If I Die Young
by gocubsgo17
Summary: Booth and Brennan are called out to a typical case, but this case hits just a little too close to home for Bones.
1. The Man in the Storage Shed

**A/N: I know this has been done before, but this wouldn't leave me alone so I hope you'll put up with me while I write this. This is also my first case fic so I'd love getting your feedback on this as well. I like to think I know what I'm talking about. I did take a forensic anthropology class last semester but it was just an introductory class so I may need some help. Please let me know what you think!**

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* * *

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"So where was the body found exactly?"

"The body was found in the storage shed hidden behind the rakes and lawn mower. Not quite fully decomposed apparently."

"Who found it?"

"Neighbor who needed to borrow a hose, apparently."

"Who is it?"

"Jeez, Bones, what's with the third degree? Calm down, I'm getting there. Neighbor ID'd the body as Thomas Kerr. Lived with his daughter…"

"Where is she?"

"Bones, she's missing. FBI techs searched the house and they can't find her."

The partners were sitting in Booth's SUV, driving to the scene on the outskirts of suburban D.C. Brennan sighed. Placing her elbow on the armrest, she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration with one hand while taking the preliminary case file from Booth with the other.

"Thomas Kerr," she repeated out loud, "forty-seven, widower. Wife died in a single-car accident twelve years ago. Their daughter was three when the accident occurred."

"Hadley Kerr, fifteen. There's an Amber alert out for her, but we don't know much so it may not be much use. Caucasian female, about five and a half feet tall, long brown hair, and blue eyes. That's what we got from the neighbor," Booth finished for her.

They pulled up to the small, modest house, now bustling with crime scene techs and junior agents all helping out with the case. Booth led her to the body, which Cam was already hovering over the remains.

"This is definitely your area of expertise, Dr. Saroyan," Dr. Brennan used as a greeting. She was right. The body had too much flesh for her.

"Well, I'm pretty much done with my examination here. After I'm done with the autopsy at the lab, give it forty-eight hours…more or less…and you can have the bones after the beetles are done with it," Cam bargained.

Brennan simply nodded and started to walk away.

"Hold up! You find anything interesting, Cam?" Booth asked.

"It looks like our victim was beaten over the head with something and then stomped on. These are definite footprints," she said, pointing to the impressions on his chest, "I'll have Angela try to match the exact shoe brand and size. There are some particulates in the prints I'm going to have Hodgins pull."

"Got it," Booth said, taking notes on his small notepad, "Thanks, Camille."

"No problem, Seeley."

"Ooh-kay, Bones, you ready to go question the neighbor?" Booth cried out, not realizing his partner was no longer by his side. Cam chuckled a bit to herself.

"Bones, where'd ya go?" Booth ran around the small property, finally catching up to her as she stood over a small door in the ground.

She didn't say anything but only gave him a smug look.

"What's that?" he asked.

"It's a storm shelter."

"Okay…"

"Did the FBI techs look for the girl in here?"

Booth gave her a knowing look and pulled open the storm shelter door. Hadley looked up at them and wiggled back farther back into her spot in the corner of the small shelter.

"Dad's dead, isn't he?"

The partners looked at each other, neither knowing what to say to the girl. She didn't seem scared, but she wasn't about to willing leave the safety of the storm shelter either.

Booth yelled to one of the junior agents to have the Amber alert canceled and have an ambulance called. The girl was safe, for the most part.

"It seems that way. We're going to confirm with dental records but it does seem that your father is dead. I'm so sorry, Hadley," Brennan said.

"Well, can you just say that you never found me or something? I don't have any family. And I'm not going to an orphanage or whatever they do with kids like me."

To Booth's surprise, she didn't seem too affected by the admission that it was her father in the storage shed.

"You'll go to foster care," Booth told her, and Brennan flinched at the mention of the system. She was the same age as the girl when she went in. Booth knew it was going to be a difficult case for them. He was going to struggle with this one to the end.

Hadley didn't answer and she didn't move from her spot.

"Hadley, I need you to come with us. I need you to answer some questions with us about your dad so we can catch his murderer."

There was some more silence for a while between the three, Hadley staring between Booth and Brennan and Booth and Brennan staring between each other.

Booth pulled her off to the side, out of Hadley's sight.

"I need you to go down into that shelter and talk to her."

"Why?"

"'Cause you're a chick. And…you were in the system and you turned out just fine."

Brennan gave him a warning look and Booth knew he had to tread lightly.

"Bones," he tried again after she didn't answer, "Hadley might know something. We need to talk to her."

Brennan sighed. She knew he was right. She would have to be the one to get Hadley out of the storm shelter. Tentatively, she walked to the shelter and slowly made her way down the narrow stairs. It was an industrial storm shelter, one seen mainly on Army bases. It was solid and made of study metal. One wall behind the stairs had a small shelving unit full of canned food, blankets and a few rechargeable flashlights.

"I could've survived down here until everyone left, you know," Hadley told her, when she saw Brennan looking at the shelves. "I was just going to hide out and wait 'til people left. I was used to being on my own."

Brennan sat down on one of the lowest steps to talk to Hadley. Booth was getting impatient. He was pacing around the opening of the shelter door, listening to their conversation without looking like he was eavesdropping.

"Why were used to being alone?"

"It was always just me and my dad. Dad worked a lot," Hadley told her, "He was a construction worker. He worked a lot of late nights too. Sometimes, I'd already be in bed when he got home. He'd leave me money for groceries and I'd have to stop on my way home from school. I don't mind being alone, but I'd rather stay here. Can't I stay here?"

That's when the tears finally came that Booth had been waiting for. Hadley started crying and he expected Brennan to run for the hills. But instead, she stood from the step she had planted herself on and plopped down on the blankets next to Hadley, pulling the girl as close as possible. As Hadley cried on her shoulder, Brennan looked up at Booth. They exchanged glances for a short moment until he walked away, leaving the two abandoned women alone.

It was a while before the two finally came out of the storm shelter. Brennan walked with Hadley, who was furiously wiping away tears from her face, to the ambulance to be checked out.

"I'm fine," Hadley insisted as the medics checked her over, "I knew the cops wouldn't let me stay here so I hid. I didn't hide from anyone. I'm not hurt."

"I'll be right back, Hadley," Brennan promised. She walked the short distance to Booth's car to where he was standing.

"She okay?" he asked.

"Physically or mentally?" Brennan pushed.

"Both."

"Physically, nothing's wrong with her but she has to be checked out. Mentally…I don't blame her for wanting to stay here. I didn't want to leave my house either."

"She is kinda like you, Bones. She does seem kinda stubborn," Booth joked. Brennan only half smiled at him.

"You okay, Bones?"

She didn't answer, but kept fidgeting with her hands.

"Bones?"

"I need your help, Booth. I think I made another promise I can't keep."

Booth raised his eyebrows at her and opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. Brennan looked at him.

"I told her she could stay with me."


	2. The Woman on the Slide

**A/N: For my sake, I'm going to say this happened after Hodgins and Angela got married but Booth and Brennan never left for a year. So I'm going to pretend they never left. I hate that they left. Okay, so I hate how they left things mostly. Ugh. I don't like it at all. Anyway, that's just for clarification.**

* * *

Hadley was in Booth's office alone, waiting for Booth and Brennan to come back. She was wandering and looking at his commendations and decorations that adorned the walls of his office.

The partners sat in the bullpen just outside of his office, also waiting for someone. They were waiting for Caroline.

"It's all in order, Cher," Caroline said, as she approached them, "Hadley stays with you. A social worker will be by your place in the morning to sort things out."

"Thanks," Brennan said.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing. A teenage girl is hard work."

"I can handle it," Brennan told her, sounding offended.

"Bones can do it. And she's got me and the Squint Squad if she needs help. It's not like Hadley is a baby," Booth stuck up for his partner.

"Well, while you two are playing house, make sure you solve that case. That girl is going to want to know who killed her daddy."

Caroline walked away, leaving a befuddled Booth and contemplative Brennan in her wake.

"I'm going to take Hadley to pack up some of her clothes. We left in kind of a hurry and she doesn't have anything."

"Well, I'm coming with you," Booth announced.

"What? Why?"

"Bones, her home is a crime scene. I have to be there as an officer of the law."

"Fine."

Brennan walked into Booth's office, him following closely behind.

"Do I get to stay with you?"

Brennan smiled. "Yes. Do you want to go get some things from your house? Clothes, toiletries, things like that?"

"Right now?"

"If you want."

"It's going to be weird."

"What is?" Booth asked.

"Leaving. And knowing I never get to go back."

After what seemed like several long minutes of quiet, Brennan said, "You have to move on, Hadley. I know you don't want to, no one does. But it's the only way you'll ever get over this, it's the only way you'll ever grow as a human being and try to become the person your father wanted you to be."

Hadley nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

"Where'd that come from, Bones?" Booth whispered as they walked out of his office, a proud smile on his face.

"Where did what come from?"

"Never mind…"

* * *

"So I pulled the footprint from pictures and molds and I'm pretty sure it's a work boot," Angela said as she walked into the autopsy room where Cam was working on Thomas Kerr.

"Well, he was a construction worker. Maybe a co-worker?" Cam speculated.

Angela shrugged. "Could be. I'm searching for a brand now. It looks like a man's size twelve."

"Good. Does Hodgins have anything on the particulates from the impressions?"

"I know he said it was two different types of sand but that's all I know. You'll have to check with him if you want more."

"Alright. Thanks Ange."

Cam was alone again in the autopsy room once Angela left except for the corpse of Hadley's father. She was done with the autopsy. The only thing she had discovered except for the shoe impressions on his torso and the blunt force trauma on his skull was that Thomas Kerr was a healthy man. He could've lived to be a very old man had he not been murdered. He could've grown to see his daughter lead a full life.

Cam took her time and closed the body. When she was finally done, she covered him respectfully with a white sheet and washed up, planning to see if Angela had any luck with a shoe brand and if Hodgins had found the sand.

The boss approached Hodgins' work station noticing work was not happening. He had Angela in a lip lock worthy of a triple-X warning. Cam cleared her throat loudly enough to announce her presence and two split apart instantly.

"So Angie ID'd the boot brand," Hodgins said to keep it from getting awkward.

"Uh yeah, the impression matches the Chippewa Sportility eight inch steel toe work boot. It's what Thomas Kerr's construction company recommends for their workers. Anderson Construction, that's Kerr's company, has a deal with one of the wholesalers' downtown so all the workers get them pretty cheap."

"So, if all the workers have the same boots, we can at least narrow it down to whoever wears a size twelve?"

Angela nodded.

"Okay, Hodgins, did you find anything on the sand?"

"Yeah, one is your basic sandbox sand. You can find it pretty much at any home improvement or hardware store. The other type is used for sand pits like you'd see for sand volleyball or like a fake beach that people try to make in the middle of a landlocked state."

"You lost me," Angela said.

"Me too," Cam confessed.

"The first type, the sandbox sand comes in bags. You can load that stuff in your car trunk and take it home. The other…you'd need a dump truck. This is the kind of stuff you can only find at quarry."

"So more construction stuff?"Angela guessed.

"Maybe. I'll call Booth and let him know. I have talk to Brennan. See if they can get the girl to open up about anything. You two do know that Hadley Kerr is staying with Dr. Brennan, right?"

"Like…living with Dr. B. or maybe, I don't know…say, job-shadowing her?" Hodgins asked, shocked at the announcement.

"You're probably going to have to teach her the ways of girl talk, Angela," Cam told the artist and completely ignoring entomologist.

"Trust me, Sweetie, I've been trying for six years. It ain't gonna happen."

* * *

"Alright, Camille, thanks. I'll let you know if we find anything." Booth flipped his phone shut and shoved it back into his pocket.

"Aren't you going to tell me what they found?" Brennan asked.

"Later," was all he said.

"Why?"

"Bones…"

"Oh…" She had forgotten Hadley was sitting in the back seat of Booth's SUV. When they arrived to Hadley's house, it was a remarkably different scene than it was earlier that day. It was quiet and though the crime scene tape still surrounded the yard, it looked calm. They walked into the kitchen, Hadley's half-eaten breakfast still sitting on the table where she had abandoned it for her hiding spot. The fridge was covered with old paintings Hadley had done when she was younger and pictures covered the walls of a growing girl.

She darted up the stairs and Brennan slowly followed. She wanted to give Hadley her space to say goodbye, but she also wanted to be there in case she needed a shoulder. Hadley pushed opened the first door at the top of the stairs. It wasn't a child's room, but a plain room that had once been shared by two people. Hadley walked to the lone dresser in the room and on top stood a jewelry box. Hadley opened it and took out a necklace and ring.

She turned to look at Brennan. "I'm not really the sentimental type but there's this picture of me and my mom down in the living room from before she died. I don't remember taking it. I was too little. But she was wearing these in the picture. Dad told me I could have them when I went to college. Will you hang onto them for me while I go pack?"

"Uh, sure."

Hadley crossed the room and Brennan held out her hand.

"You don't need to rush. And you can bring whatever you want," Brennan told Hadley as she placed the valuables into her guardian's hand, "I have plenty of room."

Hadley only smiled a bit before she left the room. Brennan didn't follow this time. This time, she went back down stairs. Booth was looking around at the pictures of Hadley scattered around the living room.

"Whatcha got, Bones?" he asked when he saw she had her fist tightly clenched.

She held out her hand and began to explain. "Hadley said they were her mother's."

"Of course, Bones. It's just like yours." He grabbed her hand and took her mother's heirloom ring between two fingers as it perched on her hand.

"No, it's not, Booth. The rings don't look alike at all."

"That's not what meant, Bones. The idea behind it is the same."

"I suppose you're right. She said there's a picture of her wearing these."

Booth nodded. "Yeah, it's over here." He led Brennan to the fireplace mantle where picture frames were lined up. The picture of Hadley and her mother had been taken on a playground. Hadley looked about two years old and her mother couldn't have been a day over thirty. They were both sitting at the bottom of a slide, their grins taking over their faces. She looked like her mother: tall with bright blue eyes and long brown hair. Hadley was right; The necklace and ring Brennan now held in her hand were the same as in the picture. She took the picture off the mantle, handed it to Booth and scanned the room for one of Hadley and her father.

"He must've been the one behind the camera," Booth said, somehow knowing what she was thinking. There was no picture of father and daughter that they could find.

"I'm ready," Hadley said from the foot of the stairs. She only had two duffle bags and the partners were surprised that she didn't have more.

"Are you sure?" Brennan asked.

Hadley nodded. "If I stay here any longer, it's gonna get too hard to leave."

"We can take more of your things back to my apartment if you'd like."

"Bones, don't push it," Booth said.

She walked over to Hadley and gave her the necklace and ring. She looked up at Brennan gratefully, put the jewelry on and walked outside, struggling to carry both bags that looked stuffed.

"I should give her the frame," Brennan said, holding her hand out for Booth to give her the picture frame of Hadley's mother.

Booth shook his head. "Save it, Bones. Save it for when she needs some comfort that you can't give her."


	3. The Answer in the Question

Hadley loaded the bags into the back of Booth's car while the partners slowly walked from the house. Booth was giving her the information from the Squint Squad.

"I need to question Hadley, Bones," he warned her.

"I know."

"The sooner, the better."

"I know."

"Are you going to let me talk to her?"

"Why are you asking me like that?"

She was becoming defensive, her walls becoming higher.

"Bones, you're her guardian now. And I know you. You're going to want to protect her. But it's _not _going to be like interrogation."

"You can't interrogate her, Booth! She's a child!"

He stopped walking and forced her to stop too. "See, that's not what I said! I'm not going to make her sit in the interrogation room and sweat it out like a suspect. She's not a suspect, Bones. But if she knows something about her dad that she's not telling us, we're never going to find out who killed Thomas Kerr. And you want that, right?"

"Of course I want to find out who killed him."

"Then you need to let me talk to her," he told her.

"Then I want to be there when you do."

"It's your right as a guardian. I'd never deny you your parental rights, Bones."

They started walking to the car again. Hadley was already seated inside.

"Just don't upset her, Booth," Brennan warned just before she climbed in the car.

The car ride to Brennan's apartment was silent except for a nervous tapping that came from the back seat.

Booth carried Hadley's bags as Brennan led the way up to her place. The walk was silent and Hadley could hear her heart beating. She didn't understand why she was nervous. She was walking into a new life full of things she didn't understand and she was worried her new guardian wouldn't know how to help.

"Your room is the second door on the right. I'll get you clean sheets," Brennan told her, leaving Booth and Hadley to stand in the entryway.

"Come on, I'll show you your room," Booth grunted as he adjusted one of Hadley's bags on his shoulder. She followed Booth to the guestroom. The bed was unmade; someone had been there recently.

"Ah, that's why you need clean sheets. Max must've been here," Booth said.

"Who's Max?"

"Bones' dad."

"You call Dr. Brennan Bones?"

"Yeah."

"She told me she was in the system."

"She was."

"But…her dad is still around?"

"That's a long story, Hadley. You'll have to ask Bones about that. I'm not even going to touch that one."

Booth dropped Hadley's bags at the foot of the bed and they waited for Bones to bring Hadley clean sheets. It was still early in the day, but she was tired. She wanted to nap in her own bed more than anything, but the guest bed would have to suffice.

"So how long have you and Dr. Brennan been dating?" Hadley asked to break the silence.

Booth blushed. "Why do you think we're dating?"

"You look at her the way guys my age look at girls. So…you're not dating her?"

"No."

"But you wanna be?"

"Bones and I are partners."

"Well, you love Bones, I can tell that much. I won't tell her though," Hadley promised.

They could hear Brennan approaching and Hadley stopped talking about the current subject.

"I can change the sheets, Hadley. You can unpack if you'd like. That dresser is empty and there are some hangers in the closet."

She nodded and watched Brennan rip off the dirty sheets from the bed.

"Bones…"

She looked up at Booth. Words were silently exchanged between them and Hadley was desperate to know what was going on but she was left out of the loop.

"Hadley? Can I ask you a few questions?" Booth looked at her, once he and Brennan broke eye contact.

"About?"

"Your dad."

She swallowed and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I guess. I'm not sure what I'm going to be able to tell you though. He always worked." Hadley busied herself putting her clothes away.

"Do you know if anyone at work was upset with him for any reason?"

Hadley just shrugged.

"Did your dad do anything outside of work?"

"He played in a co-ed volleyball league for fun. There has to be at least two girls on a team. They play at a bar in town every Wednesday night. Dad plays with a bunch of people from work. They get the secretaries from the construction office to play too so they qualify for co-ed. He always came home really hammered. I was usually in bed when Dad got back. I could hear him having issues getting up the stairs. Had to help him a few times," she remembered, "he came home with a black eye once. I asked him about it and he said he and a guy at work got in a disagreement and that was all."

"How often did you talk to your dad?" Booth asked, taking notes while she talked.

"I didn't see him every day but I talked to him every day. He'd take a late lunch break so I could talk to him as soon I got done with school."

"So you two were close?"

Hadley nodded and fought the tears in her eyes.

"Do you know who his close friends were?"

Booth kept receiving warning looks from Brennan, but ignored them.

"Uh, the guys on his volleyball team. Alberto Martinez, Zach Cooke, and George Schafer."

"Who were the women on his team?"

"Zach's wife, Sarah and Cindy Ellington. They're both secretaries at the construction office."

Booth stumbled a bit with the next question. It was almost as bad as asking Parker about his mom's boyfriends.

"Did your dad have a, uh…girlfriend? Was he seeing anyone that you know of?"

"Booth, that's enough," Brennan said through her teeth. She didn't want to upset Hadley. Without any experience with teenage girls under her belt, Brennan wasn't ready for rough waters.

Booth kept his eyes on Hadley, waiting for her answer.

"I know he wanted to ask Cindy out. He wanted to know if I thought it would be weird if he started dating again. I don't even remember Mom and I'm sure he had moved on but he wanted my permission."

Booth nodded. "Thanks, Hadley. I think that's it for now. Bones, I'm gonna go back to work. I'll call you if I find something."

She didn't answer him, still upset about the questions he had asked Hadley. Booth left and the apartment became quiet once more.

"So…Agent Booth kind of told me about your dad. Well, just a little. Not everything."

Brennan wondered what he had said but knew it wasn't much. She knew Booth respected her privacy.

"Yes, Max stays with me on occasion. My parents abandoned me as a child and even though it can be hard to trust him at times, it's nice to have him around."

"That's good," Hadley said sincerely. Her mind was wandering. Hadley knew it would never be like that for her. Her dad would never just pop back into her life.

Brennan sensed the awkwardness and finished changing the sheets quickly.

"I'm going to go work on some things in my office," she told Hadley, "I'll be right down the hall if you need me."

Brennan quickly walked to her office and closed the door. She sat at her desk and pulled out her phone. Pressing a speed dial button, she hoped the person on the other end would answer.

"Saroyan," she heard.

"Cam, I need some advice."


	4. The Comfort in the Agent

"No offense, Cam, but why would she call you and not me?"

Angela seemed upset. Brennan was her best friend. But Angela wasn't who she had gone to this time when she needed advice the most.

"Angela, I'm sorry. I have a bit more expertise in this area than you do."

"What, is it another body?"

"Teenage girls. I think Dr. Brennan wants to know how to talk to Hadley. She was kind of thrown into this situation like I was with Michelle. I wouldn't trade it for the world, but I would've loved some help. If I can help her, I'm going to try."

Angela nodded in understanding.

"But," Cam continued, "I'm sure Hadley's going to want more a friend than a mom. Maybe you can be that to her. Come on."

The two women grabbed their bags and left the Jeffersonian for Brennan's apartment.

* * *

Brennan was thankful to hear the light knocking at the front door. She knew it had to be Cam. Booth would've just pounded loudly or used his key. She opened the door to find her two friends standing there.

Surprised, she only said, "Hi."

"Hi, Sweetie," Angela said first, "how are things going?"

Brennan shrugged and stepped aside to let them in. "Hadley has not come out of her room since we arrived. I know it is a big adjustment for her but she must be getting hungry," she worried.

"Or at least have to pee," Angela added.

"What do you exactly need advice on?"

"How did you raise Michelle?"

Cam laughed a bit. "I hardly raised her. I was with her when she was a little girl. And then when she was a teenager. Raising a little girl and caring for a teenager are two completely different things."

Brennan looked interested and fought the urge to whip out a pen and paper to take notes.

"Sweetie, can I go…" Angela pointed back toward Hadley's room.

Brennan nodded and Angela left the two to talk. She knocked on the door and opened it only when she heard the girl say, "It's open."

Hadley was laying on her back on the bed, flipping through a large anthropology textbook she had found on one of the closet shelves.

"Hey, Hadley," Angela said, not moving from the door way.

Hadley set the book down and looked Angela over.

"You're not a social worker," she finally concluded.

"No, I'm not. How did you know?"

"I saw a picture of you and Bones in the living room."

Angela laughed. "She lets you call her Bones too. I thought Booth only got away with that."

Hadley went back to the book and Angela took a seat on the bed. "You hungry?"

She shook her head and avoided looking at Angela.

"You have to eat sometime, you know," Angela told her.

"I know. I will. Did she tell you I wasn't eating?"

"Brennan's worried about you."

Hadley looked guilty. "I'm fine."

"You sound like Brennan."

"You two are pretty good friends, aren't you?"

Angela nodded. "She's my best friend. This is hard for her. She wants to make sure you're okay…"

"Why did she become a foster parent?" Hadley wanted to know.

"Her brother. He has two step-daughters and he wanted to make sure they'd be taken care of if something happened. But I think there's another reason."

Hadley waited for Angela to tell.

"I think she wants to prove to you, to other foster kids, to the ones that had it as bad as she did, that not all foster parents are cruel. Bren had it rough. I don't want to scare you, Hadley, but Bren didn't have nice foster parents. None of them were especially kind to her. I think this is her way of showing foster kids now that not all foster parents are mean. She wants to be a good parental figure for you, Hadley. Bren doesn't want to replace your mom or dad but she wants to help you. She's never done anything like this before and it's kinda freaking her out."

"Who else is here?"

They could hear the soft murmurs of Cam and Brennan talking in the living room.

"Cam. She's our boss. We all work together. Bren works with bones, I'm the artist and Dr. Saroyan is the ringmaster of the others who need leashes," Angela said, avoiding the fact that Cam was the pathologist. Angela didn't need to mention that the woman who had just done her father's autopsy was sitting in the next room.

Hadley nodded and the room became quiet again.

"I'm just going to warn you: Brennan means well, but sometimes, she can be awkward and the things she says come out wrong. It can be really funny sometimes but don't take it the wrong way if it sounds offensive. She normally doesn't mean it," Angela advised, knowing how her friend can be.

Hadley just nodded again and got off the bed.

"I'm hungry. And I want to meet Cam."

Angela followed Hadley out to the living room. Brennan looked surprised to see the two but was thankful Angela had gotten Hadley out of her room. She was afraid Hadley was never going to come out.

They all talked for a while and it wasn't long after Hadley and Angela emerged from her room that Booth arrived back at Brennan's apartment.

"Hey! Wow, it's a party in here! Hi, Hadley!"

"Hi, Agent Booth," she said.

"Eh, drop the agent," he told her.

"Bones, I'm hungry," Hadley and Booth said simultaneously. Cam and Angela laughed and Booth smiled widely at the young girl.

"Ah ha! I knew I liked her! Ha! She called you Bones! That's awesome!" Booth couldn't stop laughing.

Hadley smiled for the first time that evening and Booth ushered them all out the door to head for the diner.

* * *

"You kinda remind me of my dad," Hadley told Booth as they sat at the diner. It was just three of them. Cam and Angela had opted out of dinner with them, instead letting the pseudo-family enjoy their time together.

He looked up at her, his burger stopping half way to his mouth. Brennan took a few fries from his plate while he was preoccupied.

"Sorry if that was weird," she mumbled.

"Nah, it's cool. Can I ask why?"

She shrugged. "He's always pretty chill about things, or was, I guess. I don't know."

Booth just nodded and looked at Bones. She was watching his reaction. His phone rang and he answered. It was Parker. They talked for a while and Parker even said a few words to Bones.

"Who was that?" Hadley asked Brennan when she handed the phone back to Booth.

"Parker, Booth's son," she explained.

"He's got a kid?"

"Yes, he's almost eleven now. Parker is quite adorable."

Hadley nodded. Booth hung up the phone and took a large bite of his burger.

"Parker's staying with me this weekend. His mom and Captain Fantastic are going to some concert in New York and he gets to stay a few school nights with me. This never happens!" Booth sounded excited for some reason.

It reminded Hadley that she'd be missing school. She was too far away from her own high school. She'd have to start all over at a new one.

"Bones, when am I going to go back to school?" Hadley asked. It was a Wednesday night. She didn't want to get too far behind.

"You want to go back to school?" Brennan asked.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I? I'm fine."

"She sounds like you, Bones," Booth mumbled with a mouth full of burger, "We'll get it worked out. Don't worry. We'll get things situated. You'll be back to school in no time."

Hadley smiled her thanks to the agent and finished her meal.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry updates are taking me so long. Classes have started and they're kicking my ass right now. I know where I want to go with this and I have it planned for the most part so it shouldn't be much work, but its actually finding the time to write is my problem. I'd love your feedback if you have some spare time. Thanks for sticking with me and reading! :)**


	5. The Jealousy in the Ex

When Booth took Hadley and Bones back to her apartment after they finished their meal at the diner, Hadley helped him address an issue that had been a problem for some time.

"Uh, Bones?"

"Yes, Hadley?"

"Where's your TV?"

"She doesn't have one," Booth answered.

"Oh."

"I know! See, Bones! Even a teenage girl thinks it's weird that you don't have a TV!"

Brennan nodded. "I'm not here enough to watch it…"

Booth rocked back and forth on his feet and smiled at Hadley. "I sense a 'But'," he told her.

"But with Hadley here, I will be home more often and I'm sure the two of you will benefit slightly from it as well. I'll call tomorrow to get things set up," she told them.

Booth laughed and held a hand out for Hadley to high-five. The girl accepted with a small smile.

"Okay, so what are we going to do now?" Booth asked.

Brennan pulled him away from Hadley. "Aren't you going to keep working the case?"

"Not tonight. I need my partner for that and right now, my partner kinda just adopted a kid."

"I didn't adopt her, Booth. There is a difference between foster care and adoption."

"I know, Bones. But…you need to be with Hadley tonight."

"Of course. That doesn't mean you can't work the case."

Booth raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You want me to work the case…without you?"

"I want you to keep me in the spiral, but yes. I want you to do this for Hadley," Brennan told him.

Booth chuckled a bit. "Keep you in the _loop_, Bones."

"You promise?"

He rolled his eyes but smiled gently at his partner. "Of course, Bones. You really care about her."

"She shouldn't be with me right now. She should be at her home with her father."

"I know, Bones. I'm sorry. If you need anything, or if you two just want some company later…just give me call."

She smiled. "Thanks, Booth."

He wanted to hug her; she looked like she needed it. But, instead, he went to the door, shouted a goodbye to Hadley and left.

"Where's he going?" Hadley asked.

"Back to work."

Hadley just nodded and sat on the couch.

"We're going to find out what happened to your father," Brennan promised.

"I know. I believe you."

* * *

"Okay, Squints! Talk to me!" Booth said as he leapt onto the forensic platform.

"The blunt force trauma to the skull was the cause of death. We can't find a murder weapon but whatever it was didn't leave any marks. Whoever killed him probably used whatever was handy," Cam told him.

"That sand we found," Hodgins started, handing him a folder, "I can trace one of the two types. The first type isn't going to do us much good. I say if there's a kid's sandbox at the crime scene, you're on the right track. The second type, I traced it back to J and F Quarry. They delivered a large load of sand to Reggie's Tavern about a month ago for a volleyball league our victim was in."

"Wow, why don't you let me do some of the investigating?" Booth suggested.

"Hey, how's Bren doing?" Angela asked, joining the rest of the team on the platform.

"She's fine. She just wants the case solved for Hadley. This is all you can give me?"

"I tried reconstructing the wound, to see if I could get a pattern from the weapon. I got nothing," Angela told him. Cam and Hodgins told him the same.

"Look, I need Bones with me tomorrow. Any chance Hadley can sit here with you guys without being scarred for life by seeing picture of her father?"

"Of course," Cam answered. The women promised Hadley would be safe with them and Booth went to the Hoover to work on the investigation from there.

"It's weird, you know?" Angela said after Booth left.

"What's weird?" Hodgins took his wife's bait.

"They were gonna have a kid. Booth and Brennan. They were gonna make a baby without doing the nasty. They kinda just skipped that part and skipped the baby years and went right to the teenage years."

"Whoa! Do not tell Booth that," Cam advised.

"And don't tell Doctor B that, either. That's a touchy subject, Angie."

"I know! This is going to turn out interesting though, isn't it?" Angela said, a smile spreading across her face.

* * *

The next day, with Hadley securely situated in Angela's office away from all things case related, Booth and Bones were headed to the main construction site for Anderson Construction Company, Thomas Kerr's employer. They wanted to talk to the men Kerr worked with closely and the men that were on the co-ed volleyball team Hadley had told them about. They donned their hard hats and Brennan changed from heels to work boots when they arrived at the work site.

The project site manager led them to where Martinez, Cooke, and Schafer worked on lifting a frame for a new wall.

"Al, Zach, George, these people need to talk to you," the site manager told them as he asked them to stop working.

"What's up?" Alberto Martinez asked.

"I'm Special Agent Booth, FBI. This is my partner, Doctor Brennan," Booth introduced them and Brennan cut right to the point.

"Thomas Kerr is dead."

"What?" was the basic response from the men.

"He was murdered. We'd like to ask you a few questions," she continued.

They all nodded and agreed to the questions.

"Whatever you need," Zach Cooke agreed eagerly, "What about Hadley? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Booth assured, "When's the last time you saw Thomas?"

"Wow, um, gosh, it was probably last week after our volleyball game. He was mackin' on Cindy in the parking lot and we were all giving the two of them shit. But we were happy for him, ya know? I mean, his wife died a long time ago and he hadn't had a girlfriend since," George Schafer said.

"Was anyone mad at him? Did someone have it out for Thomas?" Booth continued.

They shook their heads and the partners received the standard 'everyone-loved-him' story about their victim from Zach and George.

They finished asking questions and let the men get back to their work.

"Something's not right," Booth mumbled as he shoved his notepad into his pocket.

"Is that your gut telling you that?"

"Yes. Something's off. Let's go talk to the women on the volleyball team. They might tell us more."

* * *

"Hello! Can I help you?" A perky, skinny brunette greeted Booth and Brennan as they walked into the Anderson Construction offices.

Booth flashed his badge and told her they were looking for Sarah Cooke and Cindy Ellington.

"I'm Cindy," the brunette said, "Sarah's getting coffee. She'll be back soon. What's up?"

They informed her of Thomas' death and let her cry a bit. The woman didn't seem at all concerned about Hadley, which deeply disturbed Brennan. Sarah Cooke returned and she consoled her friend while the partners asked the women some questions.

"Talk to Al. Al probably has something to do with it," Cindy said through her tears.

"Alberto Martinez?" Brennan clarified.

"Al and Cindy used to date. Al was the jealous type. He broke up with Cindy because she talked to other guys too much!" Sarah told them.

"Part of my job description is to give the workers their assignments for the day! I have to talk to all of them!" she cried.

Booth shot Brennan an 'I-told-you-so' look and attempted to soothe the crying woman.


	6. The Heartbreak in the Meltdown

"I think I'm going to take Hadley home. I don't want her at the lab too much. I'm not too fond of the idea of her being exposed to the case."

"That's a good idea, Bones. I'll drive you two home."

Brennan shook her head. "That's not necessary, Booth."

"Actually, it is, Bones. I drove you two to the lab." She didn't argue anymore and sat quietly.

"Can we go to your place instead?"

"What?"

"You have a TV. I don't."

"Oh. Oh! Yeah, that's no problem, sure."

"Thank you. I don't want Hadley to be bored at my apartment."

Booth chuckled a bit. "Don't you have board games or something? Even a deck of cards?"

"I believe I have a deck of cards, but last time they were used, my father and I were playing a game on the balcony, and he became frustrated when I won and he flung several cards over the edge, causing me to have an incomplete set. I need to buy some new cards."

"You beat your dad in a game of cards, he got mad and threw a fit so he ruined your deck of card?"

"Yes. I'm not surprised though. He used to beat me all the time as a child. I've simply become better than him."

"He never let you win?" Booth was shocked. He almost always let Parker win. It was something as a parent you just did.

"No. Never."

"Wow. Well, I'm glad you won then."

* * *

"Hadley, what would you like for dinner?"

"Whatever."

"That answer will not suffice."

"Huh?"

"She means she really wants your opinion. Bones wants to make sure we get something you'll eat. Oh! You know what? Let's just take her to Wong Fu's," Booth suggested.

"What is that, Chinese?" Hadley asked.

Brennan and Booth paused for a moment and then answered at the same time. "I'm not sure." "Yes."

Booth parked the SUV just outside of the restaurant and Hadley followed her guardian inside to a booth.

"Hey, Booth! Hi, Doctor Brennan!" Sid greeted them, "Who's this?"

"Sid, this is Hadley. Hadley, Sid owns the place."

Hadley smiled at the man and Sid gave them their customary menus, though Booth and Brennan didn't bother to look at it. Hadley eagerly grabbed it and began to look it over.

Booth snatched it quickly and hid it from her view.

"Hey! I wasn't done!"

"You don't order here," Booth told her, "Sid knows what's good and he brings you food. Just let him. Trust me"

"Otherwise, you'll be sorry. Ask Doctor Hodgins if you don't believe us," Brennan added.

Hadley looked at them skeptically. "Fine. I'll be back," she told them as she stood and went to the bathroom.

Brennan and Booth watched her walk away and then looked at each other, waiting for someone to speak.

"I want to thank you, Booth," she said.

"For what?"

"Helping me with Hadley. Keeping her mind off of things. It's going to get rough. It hasn't set in yet. I can tell. It hasn't hit her yet. Thanks, Booth."

"Bones, you don't have to thank me. You've helped me with Parker. You're my village, so you can expect the same from me."

She smiled gratefully at him and fought the strong urge to hug him as Hadley returned to the table.

* * *

As they arrived at Booth's apartment later that evening, Booth received a frantic call from Parker.

"_Dad?"_

"Bub? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"_Dad, I wanna live with you."_

It was obvious that Parker was crying.

"Buddy, you gotta stay with Mom. I'll see you tomorrow. I'll come get you soon okay. We get the whole weekend together!" Booth tried to sound excited for his son, but his heart was breaking at the sound of Parker's sobs. Booth could hear Rebecca in the background trying to wrangle the phone away from Parker. He knew something had happened to make Parker say he wanted to live with him and he knew he needed to stay calm when talking to his ex, otherwise things were just going to go downhill.

"_Seeley,"_ Rebecca's voice came over the phone, _"I'm sorry he bothered you. You're probably working."_

"Rebecca, you know he can call me anytime, no matter what," the urgency and emotion in Booth's voice getting the better of him.

"_Yes, I know,"_ was all she said.

"Rebecca, what's going on? Is Parker okay?" he tried not to sound upset, but he could still hear his son crying and all he wanted to do was hug him and tell him things were going to be okay.

"_Everything's great. Parker's just having a meltdown."_

"Eleven year olds don't just meltdown. Can I talk to him again?"

Rebecca didn't answer and Booth knew this wasn't going anywhere. Something was wrong. His gut was telling him something wasn't right.

"_Sure,"_ she relented. He could hear the phone exchanging hands and Parker's ragged breathing in the receiver.

"_Dad? Will you come get me?"_

"Bub, I can't come get you 'til tomorrow. Do you wanna talk about it?"

Parker sniffled a bit and said, _"Yeah, hold on."_ It was a moment before Booth heard anything. Brennan and Hadley were looking at him, waiting for an answer as to what was going on.

"_Okay, I can talk now,"_ Parker whispered. He sounded muffled.

"Where are you, bub?"

"_I'm sitting in my closet. It's dark in here and it stinks. I'm sitting on my hockey bag."_

Booth had to choke back a laugh. "Yeah, bub, hockey stuff normally smells pretty bad. You wanna tell me what's going on?"

Parker was quiet again for a minute. _"Mom and Brent are getting married."_

"Oh. Wow, bub. That's exciting."

"_No, it's not. I don't like Captain Fantastic,"_ he whispered.

"Parker," he scolded, "What did I tell you about that?"

"_Can I live with you, Dad?"_ Parker asked, ignoring his father's words.

"It's not that simple, Park."

"_Yes, it is. Just tell Mom you want me to live with you. I already told her that I want to live with you."_

"Parker, it doesn't just work like that."

He could tell Parker was getting frustrated again and was crying openly.

"_Dad, can you please just tell Mom? Please?"_

Booth sighed. He didn't know what else to tell Parker. "I'll see what I can do, bub. I can't promise anything. But I'll bring it up to Mom tomorrow, okay?"

"_Yeah. Thanks, Dad."_

"No problem, bub. Get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"_Okay. I love you, Dad."_

"I love you, too."

"Is everything okay, Booth?" Brennan asked.

He plopped down on the couch next to Hadley and looked at the two women who were waiting for his answer.

"I don't know," he said honestly.


	7. The Experiment with the Boy

**A/N: Sorry I didn't get a chapter up for any of the stories over the weekend but hopefully this sort of longer one will make up for it.**

* * *

Cam was giving Brennan all the leeway she needed with Hadley coming into her life. She took the next day off, hoping to help the girl with anything that could possibly come up. Brennan knew she wasn't good at the emotional aspect of the things Hadley would soon be facing but she damn sure wanted to try. Brennan woke up the next morning and waited until Hadley was up to make her breakfast, so she wouldn't make something Hadley wouldn't eat. She knew she was going to have to start stocking up on the foods normal teenage girls eat, not just foods for adult vegetarians.

It shouldn't have surprised Brennan that Hadley slept so late. It was almost noon when she finally did wake up.

"Hello, Hadley," Brennan greeted when she emerged out of her room.

"Good morning," Hadley mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she adjusted to the light.

"I'm assuming since the last time you enjoyed a meal was dinner and you slept right through breakfast that you would probably like something to eat, is that a correct guess?"

Hadley just nodded and followed Brennan slowly into the kitchen.

"I apologize for my lack of meal choices but you're welcome to eat anything you can find."

"You just want me to pick…whatever?" Hadley clarified. Brennan shrugged.

"Would you like me to make you something instead? Booth says I'm an excellent cook. I don't mind. Would you like eggs or maybe some pancakes? I can also make French toast if those first two options don't appeal to you."

"French toast does sound good," Hadley admitted. Brennan smiled at her and silently went to work. She watched her guardian move gracefully around the kitchen. Just as Brennan served Hadley her first plate of French toast, slathered in butter and drowned in syrup as requested, Booth walked in.

"Mmm, Bones, that smells good. I get the next plate right? Hi, Hadley."

"Booth, what are you doing here?" she asked as he took a seat at her kitchen table across from Hadley.

"Well I was gonna come over and take two certain people out to lunch but it looks like someone just rolled out of bed," he joked with Hadley, noting her messy, wavy hair.

She shrugged and yawned and took another bite of her toast.

Brennan set a plate identical to Hadley's in front of Booth and he sent her a big grin in thanks as he dug in.

She made a few extra slices for herself and sat down with the two of them. To break the silence, she asked, "What time do you pick up Parker?"

"Five. I gotta talk to Rebecca though. Parker wants to stay with me. He says his mom and Brent are getting married. I'm sure there's more to the story, but he called me crying last night, Bones. Eleven year old kids just don't start crying without a really good reason."

"I would like to remind you to stay calm, Booth. You know your temper has a tendency to flare up around Rebecca and I'd hate to see Parker suffer because of it."

He nodded and continued to eat.

"He thinks she's replacing you," Hadley supplied.

The two adults looked at her with curiosity.

"What do you mean?" Booth wanted to know.

She shrugged and looked down at her food. "I'm just guessing, but if his mom is getting married and he's gonna have to start spending time with some other guy that she wants him to see as a father figure, all he's going to think is that his mom is trying to replace you. Sorry, but I'm sure that's how Parker thinks of it."

"That makes sense, Booth," Brennan said, "Parker would be spending a lot more time with Brent than he would be with you."

"I don't know how to fix this without royally pissing off Rebecca. I don't know how to fix it at all." Booth slammed his fork down on the plate in frustration.

Brennan's phone rang. It was Cam and Daisy.

"Doctor Brennan, we need your help identifying the murder weapon," Cam said.

"That's why Miss Wick is there."

"She is unable to classify it. We all are. This is where your expertise comes in. I know I told you to take a few days off with Hadley but…we really need you." She looked at Booth.

"Hadley and I can hang out. If you're not done by the time I gotta go get Parker, we can go pick him up and I'll take the two of them to dinner," he told her.

"Is that alright with you, Hadley?" Brennan asked.

She nodded and Brennan told her boss she'd be there soon.

* * *

"What's the problem?"

"We can't find the murder weapon!" Daisy whined.

"I am well aware of that, Miss Wick."

"It's a blunt object of some sort. Which could be anything in the world!" the intern kept complaining.

Brennan ignored Daisy's hysterics and looked over the wound.

"Have you narrowed down the possible list of murder weapons?"

"No…" Daisy answered.

"Our main suspect is a construction worker. What's something that a man like Martinez would have with him all of the time?"

"Tools. Hand tools, smaller power tools," Cam supplied.

"We need to figure out what he always takes to the job site and go from there. Let's get to work," Brennan commanded.

They researched common tools and eventually began to start making some progress.

"To cause this much damage," Brennan said, running her gloved fingers over the wound, "the weapon had to be either very heavy or swung at him at a very high velocity."

"What about a power drill?" Angela suggested, walking onto the platform.

"Power drills can be heavy. I remember this one time, when-ˮ Daisy began.

"Now's not the time for that, Miss Wick," Cam reminded her, "Can you put the scenario into the Angelator?"

The artist nodded. "If you give me some of the variables, I can have for you soon."

When it finally came time to watch Angela's recreation on the Angelator, all the Squints gathered around to see. It was a gruesome act, sound effects and all. The deed was messy and the murderer was bound to still have traces on their clothes, should they still have the evidence.

But there were some inaccuracies. The way the scenario played out on screen wouldn't have yielded the same wound pattern and when Brennan pointed it out, the Squints immediately became flustered. They wanted to solve the case, but they were having a hard time. Brennan, especially, wanted this to be an open and shut case for Hadley.

They suggested other tools, but none even came close.

"Go back to the drill," Brennan instructed, "In your first scenario, you had the victim being struck with the sharpest part of the drill."

"Yeah, the drill bit," Angela said.

"What if he wasn't struck with the drill bit? What if the murderer used the drill bit as a grip and hit Kerr with the other end."

"That end is usually the heaviest," Daisy said, "With some momentum, a lot of damage could've been done."

"But," Hodgins pointed out, "there's not a lot to hold on with a drill bit. He'd have to hold on real tight and the groves on the bit can be really sharp. If you find the murder weapon, chances are, the guy who did it probably left some skin on the bit itself."

While they talked, Angela reconfigured the scenario into her computer and watched the new version. When it was over, the new picture of the wound matched the real wound and they all knew they had found their murder weapon. Now all that was left was to find the real thing.

* * *

Booth took Hadley with him to pick up Parker. He knew he was going to have to explain to Rebecca about a fifteen year old girl tagging along behind him, but that was the least of his worries at that point. He knocked at the door to his ex's apartment and waited for her to answer. And of course, Captain Fantastic was there to greet him.

"Hi. Come on in. Parker's been anxious for you to get here," Brent told him.

"I'll bet," Booth muttered as he and Hadley followed Brent inside, "Where's Rebecca?"

"She's talking to Parker and helping him pack for the weekend."

"Talking to him about what?"

"Not sure."

Booth just nodded. He knew Brent knew the answer to his question but he wasn't going to push his luck. "I, uh, hear a congrats are in order," he offered lamely to keep the conversation from getting awkward.

"Oh, thanks. Yeah, Becca and I really excited."

"And Parker?"

"I'm not sure."

Booth decided it was time to let the conversation die and attempt to hear what was going on in the back room with his son. He could hear his ex and Parker mumbling and a few whines but nothing that suggested he needed to intervene.

Rebecca emerged minutes later.

"Hi, Seeley. Who's this?"

"I'm Hadley. I'm Bones' foster kid," she added, to save her friend the explanation. Booth gave her a small thankful grin and turned back to Parker's mom.

"Where's Parker?"

"Doctor Brennan is a foster mother?"

"Yeah, where's Parker?"

"In his room."

"Well is he ready to go?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't think he's going to go with you this weekend, Seeley."

Booth couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You wanna tell me why you're gonna keep my kid from me?"

"The three of us need to spend some family time together and this weekend this perfect."

"What about me? Don't I get some family time with Parker? No offence, Rebecca, but this guy," he waved toward Brent, "isn't even Parker's family."

"He will be."

Booth's plan of staying calm at Rebecca for Parker's sake went out the window. "No. I don't think so."

"What? Are you going to tell me who I can and can't marry?"

"I don't give a damn who you marry, but you're not going to keep me from my son. I'm not afraid of you any more, Rebecca. Did he tell you he wants to live with me?"

Her face paled. "Yes."

"Well, I want him to live with me."

"I don't think so, Seeley. You're never home," was her reason.

"That's because he doesn't live with me! If he did, I'd leave the bureau at quitting time every day. And even if I had a case, I have plenty of friends who would be willing to look after Parker who love him and Parker loves them. And I wouldn't keep him from you like you do to me. You know that."

She stayed quiet at his comment and Booth noticed Parker pulling all sorts of bags from his room down the hall. From the looks of it, he was moving out, bringing his clothes, his hockey gear and prized possessions with him.

"Hadley, could you help Parker with his bags?" Booth asked loud enough for Rebecca to hear, and she didn't put up a fight. Hadley walked over to Parker, who looked at the stranger with confusion, but he could tell his dad trusted her, so he handed her a bag and the two walked to the door in silence.

They stood there, waiting for some instruction of what to do. Booth tossed Hadley his car keys. "Go load up the bags. I'll be down in a minute."

The kids left, leaving the adults alone.

"What, are you her babysitter or something?" Rebecca asked, her defensive side coming into play.

"Her father was killed and Bones and I are working the case. Bones is at work. She doesn't want Hadley at the lab while we're solving her father's murder."

Rebecca blushed at her harshness and said, "That's a really nice thing Doctor Brennan is doing for that girl."

Booth just nodded.

"Brent, can you excuse us? I need to talk to Seeley."

Brent left the room and walked into the kitchen. Booth knew he only went one room over so he could eavesdrop but he didn't care. He felt like he was about to win. For the first time since he became a father, he actually felt like it.

"You're not taking him away from me, Seeley."

"I'd never do that to you, Rebecca. But he's confused. Hadley told me something this morning and I think she's right." Booth repeated what Hadley had said while they were eating French toast and Rebecca looked sad.

"I'm not trying to replace you in his life. It's just a new step in mine."

Booth rolled his eyes. "Did you even think about asking him how he felt? It affects him too. It scared the shit out of me the other night when he called me crying. I thought one of you was hurt. He's not a little boy anymore, Becca. He's becoming a man and things are confusing for him. He's starting to notice girls and he doesn't want his mom cramping his style," Booth said trying to make things a bit lighter.

Rebecca smiled at him and he knew he was getting somewhere.

"Just let him spend some time with me," Booth begged.

After what seemed like forever, Rebecca finally nodded. "I'll let him stay a week or two with you. Weekends…he's here though. And if he starts slacking off in school or anything like that, this little experiment is over."

Booth's face lit up with a thousand watt smile and he gave Rebecca a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks, Becca. I gotta go, the kids are in the car." And he dashed out the door.

* * *

"So, what's your name?"

"I'm Hadley."

"Oh. I'm Parker."

"I know. Booth talks about you all the time."

"How do you know my dad?"

"My…uh, well, Bones. I know Bones."

"You know Bones? I love Bones! She's so awesome!"

"Yeah, she seems pretty cool."

"How do you know Bones?"

"She's my…Bones is my foster mom."

Parker didn't know how to respond to something like that. The two were sitting in Booth's car, waiting for him to come out of Rebecca's apartment.

"Do you think my dad is going to convince my mom to let me with him?" Parker asked, changing the subject.

Hadley shrugged. "Maybe. He really wants you to live with him."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Awesome. I hope Mom let's me stay with Dad. I don't like Brent. He's not like Dad at all."

Hadley was sitting where her guardian normally sat and turned to look at Parker in the back. "Do you want Brent to be like Booth?"

"No! I just want my dad. That's it."

They stayed quiet and they finally saw Booth jog out to the car.

"Hi, Dad!"

"Hey, Bub. Guess what?"

"I get to live with you?"

"You get to stay with me for a couple of weeks!"

"That's it?" Parker sounded disappointed, "I don't want to go back to Mom's. Ever."

"Hey, don't say that. You're going to see her next weekend. But you get to spend the whole week with me. But when these two weeks are over, if you still want to stay with me, we're going to talk to Mom again, okay? The three of us are going to sit down and talk things over, okay?"

"Yeah, fine," Parker relented.

"Bub, buck up! We're gonna have so much fun these next two weeks. Let's not dwell on it, okay?"

"Okay, Dad," Parker told him, his smile bigger than Booth had seen in ages.


	8. The Sorrow in the Girl

"I have a court order for your DNA, Mister Martinez," Booth said as he and his partner approached the construction workers at their job site. Brennan put on her gloves and pulled a swab out of her bag as she waited for their suspect to open his mouth.

Martinez parted his mouth to allow Brennan to take the sample. When she was done, he said, "You can have my DNA. But I didn't kill Tom. He was my best friend. Look, my dad left when I was a kid. I wouldn't leave Hadley without her dad. She needed him. You can have my DNA, but I'm telling you, you're looking at the wrong guy."

"We also have a court order for all power drills used by anyone on this construction site," Brennan said, not ignoring his speech. They confiscated all of the drills used by each worker at the site.

"What do you think you're going to find?" The site manager asked.

"Our murderer," she answered, as she finished tagging the last drill, "and some closure for Hadley Kerr."

* * *

"You've been looking at the wrong guy," Cam reported.

"You're kidding."

"Sorry, Booth. We found the murder weapon though! The drill bit was made of sharp titanium and it cut into the killer's skin, just like Hodgins said."

Booth took the case file from Cam's hand and read it over, despite the fact that most of the words went right over his head.

"So what now?" she asked.

"I don't know."

* * *

"_DNA didn't match?"_ Brennan said into her phone. She leaned back farther into her desk chair and rubbed a hand over her face, _"So Martinez is out. If he's clear, who killed Hadley's father?"_

She kept her voice down. Hadley and Parker were just in the other room, watching Brennan's new TV. She was sitting at her laptop, attempting to work on both her next book and the case simultaneously. But life was getting in the way. Her thoughts were traveling back to Hadley and her heart broke each time bad news came around.

"I'm not sure, Bones. I'm going to work a few angles with Cam and go from there. If I get something solid, I'll call you. Are you okay there with the kids?"

"_Of course. I can handle two teenagers."_

"My son is not a teenager."

"_Not yet,"_ she corrected.

He hung up his phone and glared at Cam who had been listening to the whole conversation. She had a stupid grin on her face and he knew his old friend wasn't about to drop it.

"What, Camille?"

"You and Doctor Brennan…are you two playing house or something?"

Booth waved her off.

"I'm serious, Seeley. I'm glad Rebecca let you take Parker for a few weeks but don't tell Angela. If she finds out you and Doctor Brennan are playing make-believe family with Parker and Hadley, she'll have a field day."

Booth nodded, taking her advice. "Can we just get to work, please?" he asked, attempting to hide the blush creeping up his cheeks. He liked the idea of a family with Bones.

* * *

"Hey, Bones?"

Brennan looked up to see Hadley standing in the doorway.

"Are you okay?"

She shrugged. "Al was a suspect?"

"You heard my conversation with Booth." It was a statement, not a question. Hadley nodded.

"We have to cover all bases, Hadley. It was just a precaution."

"Al would never do it. He was Dad's best friend."

This was the moment Brennan had wanted to prepare herself for, when Hadley completely lost control and broke down, mourning for the loss of her father.

"I believe you. Do you know who might want to hurt your dad?"

She shook her head. "No clue. I just want things to go back to the way they were." Brennan was never good with metaphors but she could see Hadley's metaphorical walls falling around her. Brennan pushed back from her desk quickly and went to her. Hadley, who had never before wanted to show any weaknesses in her new surroundings, let go and fell into Brennan's arms.

Brennan held her foster daughter tightly as Hadley cried.

"I promise we'll find out who did it. And I promise you'll be okay," Brennan whispered.

"You can't know that," Hadley said between sobs, "Your dad came back. Mine won't."

"I promise, Hadley. You'll always have someone. You won't be alone."

* * *

"Cher, that girl has no other family!" Caroline said, sauntering into Booth's office.

"Hadley?"

"Dad was all she had left. Poor girl's all alone now."

Booth shrugged. "Nah, she and Bones seem to be getting along."

"Who knows how long the state is gonna let her stay with the good doctor! Look, I think Doctor Brennan is better off with the girl but the state might think otherwise once this case is over. I'll talk to some people over at child services," Caroline said.

"You mean Hadley is better off with Bones, right?"

"I meant what I said, Chéri. That partner of yours is better off with that girl." Caroline left Booth alone to think about what she had said.

Booth leaped up and grabbed his suit jacket before running out the door to Brennan's apartment.

When he arrived, he found Parker sitting by himself on the couch watching TV.

"Hey, Dad!" he smiled at him

"Hiya, Bub. Where's Hadley and Bones?"

Parker's grin disappeared. "Hadley's room. She's crying, Dad. I don't know what to do. Bones won't let me help."

"I'm not sure you can help, Bub."

"Why not?"

"Hadley's going through a rough time right now."

"Why?"

He knew his son wouldn't leave it alone. Parker, always the curious one, was full of questions.

"Parks, Hadley's mom died when she was a little girl and her dad just died. She's still coming to terms with the loss so we need to help her out, okay?"

Parker just nodded.

"You stay here. I'm going to go check on Bones and Hadley, okay?"

"Okay, Dad. Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah, Bub?"

"I'm really glad I'm living with you. Even if it is only for a few weeks."

Booth smiled. "Me too, Parker."

He walked down the hall to the transformed guest room. Brennan was sitting on the edge of the bed, Hadley's head in her lap. Brennan looked up when she noticed movement in the doorway. He was leaning there, watching her absentmindedly smooth out Hadley's hair. She had fallen asleep, but Brennan continued with the calming motion.

"Hey," she whispered.

Booth smiled at her. "You okay?" he asked. She nodded. "Hold on, I'll be right back."

He left and she could hear his heavy footsteps attempting to be light as he padded down the hall. She heard her front door open and Parker and his father conversing for a short minute. The door shut and a few short minutes later, the door opened again. When Booth finally reappeared in Hadley's doorway, he looked hesitant.

"This is exactly what we were saving it for. It's been in my car since we left her house."

Booth placed the picture of a young Hadley and her mother on the nightstand. Brennan was thankful that he remembered. She traded out her lap for a pillow and the two left Hadley to sleep in peace.


	9. The Solace in the Father

It was dark out when Hadley woke up. She could hear some commotion coming down the hall from the kitchen. Hadley climbed out of her bed and put on some more comfortable clothes before going to see what the noise was about. She found Booth and Parker scurrying around the kitchen, making a mess she was sure Bones wouldn't be thrilled with. Pots of water were boiling over, the bread that was heating in the oven were burnt, and a bowl full of pasta was upside down in the middle of the floor.

"Where's Bones?"

The two looked up and smiled at her.

"Bones went to the store. Dad dropped the pasta and she didn't have any more. Plus, she's going to pick up some meat sauce for us 'cause Bones doesn't eat meat."

"Does she know you're burning the garlic bread too?" Hadley pointed to the oven.

Booth and Parker turned to look and Parker shouted, "Dad, I told you there was something burning! I'm gonna call Bones and have her pick up some bread too. We're really bad at making dinner, Dad."

"We are not!"

Parker laughed as he ran over to his Dad's suit jacket to find his phone, leaving Hadley and Booth to begin the clean up the pasta on the floor and the bread in the oven.

"Are you alright, Hadley?" he asked quietly.

She shrugged. "I'm fine."

"You sound like Bones. If you wanna talk, and you don't wanna talk to Bones, you can always call me."

She gave him a small smile. "What was your dad like?"

"He was mean. Strict. He wasn't around much. He wasn't a good dad," he said, sparing her the details of his childhood filled with whiskey bottles and black eyes.

"But you are."

He smiled at her, thankful that Parker was running back to the kitchen. He didn't want to talk about his old man, but hearing that from Hadley made his heart ache for her a little more. She shouldn't have to go through this. It wasn't fair to her.

"Thanks, Hadley."

"Dad! Bones just wants to go to the diner! Can we go? Please? I want some of that apple pie!"

"Alright, let's go! I don't want to make dinner anymore anyway."

"Bones is waiting in the car downstairs! Shotgun!" Parker called dibs as he dashed out the door.

Booth and Hadley didn't even bother racing the boy down the steps. When they emerged from the building, Brennan and Parker were waiting in the front seat. Parker was anxious, bouncing in the seat and waving for them to hurry up. Brennan was laughing at him and seemingly telling him to be patient. Booth's mind automatically went back to what Cam had said earlier about playing house. It was an image he couldn't get out of his head. Since waking from that coma, and realizing Bones wasn't his wife and she wasn't pregnant, his mind would occasionally wander to what would've happened if they had gone through with it. They would have a baby by now and most likely, he wouldn't be part of this kid's life either, just like what had happened with Parker. He couldn't go through that again and Brennan respected that. But this was different. Now he had Parker, for at least a few weeks. And now she had Hadley. For how long, neither of them could be sure, but he knew Brennan was going to do anything she could to keep Hadley with her. He knew Bones wouldn't want Hadley going through what she had dealt with.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Parker yelled at him again. "Dad! Come on! Our pie's gonna get cold!" Hadley and Booth slid into the back seat and Parker couldn't stop talking until Hadley promised to try a slice of the Booth boys' favorite apple pie.

Brennan's mind was wandering as she drove to the diner on autopilot. She kept checking the rear view mirror, not to check the cars behind her, but to see what was going on with Hadley and Booth. Not long after they left Hadley alone to sleep, Parker declared he was hungry. Brennan began to make some pasta, but Parker and Booth insisted on helping. While her kitchen was adequate enough for one, it wasn't meant to accommodate two headstrong adults and one rambunctious eleven year old. Booth dropped the bowl of fresh pasta on the floor and Brennan was forced to leave for the store. She knew Hadley would be okay without her for a while. She knew Hadley liked Booth and felt safe with him. He reminded Hadley of her father, something that shocked Booth, but knew it was comforting to her. Brennan was glad Booth was spending this newly granted time with his son with them as well. In the back seat, Hadley was ready to fall asleep again to the repetitive rhythm of the car, but the two were talking quietly. About what, she couldn't tell. She'd ask Booth later, but Brennan was just happy Hadley had found some solace.


	10. The Killer in the Friend

The next day, the partners arrived at the crime scene, armed with more warrants for more DNA. Their original suspect, Alberto Martinez, kept working now that he was cleared. He had told the FBI he didn't do it. He just wanted justice for Thomas and his daughter. Al watched from a distance as Zach willingly gave a sample. The female half of the duo put the swab in a plastic bag and moved on to George. He refused and Al couldn't hear the reason.

"Just do it, G," Al urged from his work place.

George looked over his shoulder at his friend before looking back at the agent and his partner. He was scanning the construction site for a way out. Before Al even realized what was going on, their new suspect was running for the door. Booth drew his gun and both ran to follow Schaefer. Giving her the universal signal to stay behind him, Booth led the way through the construction site after the fleeing man. He ran for his truck, slipped the key in the ignition and took off. The pair ran for their own vehicle and as Booth started the car and radioed in the chase, Brennan turned on the lights and sirens.

"Bones, will ya let me do that?" he said as he listened to the dispatcher over the radio.

"Just drive, Booth, he's getting away!"

They followed the truck and Booth was quickly gaining on him. The locals joined in soon, following Booth's lead and adding a significant amount of siren noise. The chase ended when the suspect turned down a one way street and swerved into a lamp post to avoid oncoming traffic. Booth and Brennan exited their car quickly and ran to the driver's door. George Schaefer was bleeding and disoriented, but conscious.

"Put your hands on the wheel," Booth ordered. It took him a minute to process what had been said, but he followed the command. Booth yanked open the door and pulled Schaefer out. As Booth cuffed him, Brennan pulled the swab from her pocket and took a sample of blood from the truck.

"I didn't do it," Schaefer mumbled.

"Then why'd ya run?"

When Booth received no answer, he tossed his suspect in the backseat before heading to interrogation.

* * *

Booth was pacing in the observation room. He didn't want to wait for DNA results. He just wanted to interrogate the bastard.

Brennan entered the room and waited for him to say something.

"How's Hadley?"

"She doesn't think Schaefer could do it, but she also said she didn't know him as well as she knew her father's other friends."

"So if it is him, it's not gonna break her or hurt her or anything?" Booth asked.

"It didn't seem that way, but I'm still learning what Cam and Angela call 'girl speak'," Brennan said.

Booth chuckled a bit. "Okay, Bones. Let's go get a confession."

The partners walked into stuffy room and sat across from their killer.

"I'm not talking to you without my lawyer," Schaefer said, going into full defense mode, his bandages partially hindering his eyesight.

Booth started to heckle the guy, but Brennan cut him off. "Hadley doesn't believe you did it."

"Bones," Booth muttered through gritted teeth, "let me do the talking."

She glanced at him, but otherwise ignored his request. "She doesn't think you killed her father."

"She doesn't?"

"No."

Schaefer nodded. "Poor kid. She's alone now. The kid shouldn't have to go through this. Her own dad hardly took care of her though. Since Alison died, Tom was always staying out all night, hooking up with random chicks. He'd leave Hadley alone with a sitter for days at a time when she was little and when she was old enough to take care of herself, she was alone. He was hardly a father."

"Why did you kill him?" Booth asked quietly.

Schaefer shook his head. "He shouldn't have been all over Cindy."

"Told ya, Bones. Jealously," Booth whispered to her.

She sent him a glare and focused back on Schaefer. "Thomas Kerr was a single man who could date whomever he wanted. Why did it matter to you?"

Booth sat back in his chair with a small chuckle. "She turned you down, didn't she? You were pissed because Cindy chose your buddy over you."

"He knew I wanted her. She was mine."

"Women are not possessions!" Brennan shouted.

"Bones," he cautioned, laying a hand on her arm to calm her down. She stood up and left before Booth could finish reading Schaefer the charges against him.

* * *

"Did he do it? Was it George?" was the first thing out of Hadley's mouth when Brennan came home. Hadley and Parker were in the middle of an intense game of Trouble at the kitchen table when she arrived and it was automatically forgotten when the door opened.

She nodded once. "I'm so sorry, Hadley."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did he do it?"

"He was jealous." She left it at that. Hadley didn't need to hear about her father's escapades.

Hadley nodded and looked back at Parker. "It's your turn."

Parker looked at Brennan. She nodded for him to continue and the two resumed their game. Brennan watched them for a minute and when Hadley seemed to be handling the news well, she walked to her office and began to work on the paperwork to finish up the Kerr case. She heard the lock on the front door click, signaling Booth was there to pick up Parker.

"Bones?" he called out.

"Dad!" she heard Parker shout. Brennan didn't bother responding. She knew he was looking forward to spending time with his son. She could hear some mumbling and some steps coming down the hall.

"Bones?" It wasn't the voice she expected. Parker stood in the door way, looking somewhat apprehensive.

"Are you coming to say goodbye?" she assumed.

"Hadley's crying. Dad's with her. Is she gonna be okay, Bones?"

Brennan leapt from her chair and herded Parker down the hall. When they got back to the kitchen, they found Hadley's arms wrapped around Booth. He was holding her and as he looked up at Brennan, she moved toward them. She placed a hand on Hadley's shoulder.

"Don't!" Hadley jerked away from Brennan's touch and it shocked everyone.

"Just…don't," Hadley said before she went to her room. Booth looked at Brennan for some sort of answer and when she didn't speak, he said something first.

"What happened, Bones? I came in here and she's practically about to burst."

"I…I-ˮ

"What did you say to her?"

"She asked me if it was Schaefer. All I said was yes. I didn't give her many details."

"You tell a girl who murdered her father and then just leave her alone to deal with it?"

"She seemed fine! She didn't seem to want to talk. Hadley was quite engrossed with that child's game she was playing with Parker."

"Hey!" Parker interjected, "Trouble's for big kids, too. Dad loves that game!"

"Not everyone can compartmentalize as well as you can, Bones."

"I should go check on her." She made a move towards Hadley's room.

"No. I'll go. You need to learn how to communicate with her, Bones. You gotta learn."


	11. The Structure in the Family

"I messed up, Ange. Hadley won't talk to me. She'll only talk to Booth. I should've been there for her."

"_Sweetie, everyone makes mistakes. She'll forgive you soon. And so will Booth."_

"He's quite upset with me, Angela. I know I did wrong and I understand why Hadley is mad at me, but why Booth?"

She heard her friend sigh through the phone. _"It's that dad thing coming out in him. He's worried about her."_

"Hadley is not his child. She's not even my child. She is in a sense but we are in no way related."

"_It doesn't matter, Bren. She's a kid and he wants to protect her. Let me ask you something, what if Hadley ends up staying with you until she is out of school? What's going to happen?"_

Brennan hadn't thought about it. It seemed to far way to think about. She had been in contact with social services and was told that as long as Hadley was being well taken care of, Hadley could stay there indefinitely. It hadn't troubled Brennan when they told her this. She hadn't planned on taking in a child and she hadn't thought about caring for a child since she and Booth called off the baby debacle. Being thrust back into a family lifestyle hadn't been an easy adjustment for her, but she was trying for Hadley. Brennan understood the importance of a good home would be for Hadley. She never wanted Hadley to have the experiences she did.

"Child services said she could be for a while if it works out for the both of us."

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

"If Hadley likes it here, and I can continue to care for her, she can stay until she graduates."

"_And you're okay with that?"_

"Of course. I don't want her going to some other house where she has to share a room with three other kids and hardly eats."

"_Okay, but you know that's going to change the dynamic of your partnership with Booth, right?"_

"How so?"

Angela had thought her friend was a genius, but explaining things like this was like explaining how to tie shoes to a teenager; she would've thought Brennan would've caught on by now. _"Brennan, Hadley needs her father."_

"That is impossible, Angela. You know that."

"_Yes, which is why she's going to need a father figure in her life to stabilize things. She's been without a mother practically her whole life, so adjusting to you is going to take her a while, but Booth is just what she needs. Plus, and no offense, he's used to kids. You, on the other hand, aren't."_

"I'm good with kids!"

"_I know, Sweetie, but you're not used to hanging out with them on a daily basis."_

"So what do I do? I'm asking for help here, Ange. I never do this. I need you to help me."

Angela was surprised Brennan admitted to needing help, but she wasn't going to complain. _"If I were you, give her some of that family structure."_

"I can't just give her a foster dad and siblings, Angela."

"_Booth and Parker qualify. Has she met Max yet?"_

"Of course not."

"_Bam. Instant grandparent. Max is going to love this."_

"I'm not so sure…"

"_Can you just go with me on this? You did ask for my help."_

"Yes, but exposing Hadley to a murderer is not the influence I want for her."

"I was never convicted!"

Brennan looked up to the doorway. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"_Your dad is there? Okay, maybe give Hadley some time to recover. And maybe make sure Booth's not there. I don't see that ending well."_

"Thanks, Ange. I'll call you later."

Brennan snapped the phone shut and stood from her desk. "Dad?"

"I just heard a few rumors about you adopting some kid."

Brennan rolled her eyes. "Where do you hear these things? I didn't adopt Hadley. I'm just fostering."

"So it's true?"

"I just told you I didn't adopt her."

Max just nodded. "So when do I get to meet her?"

"Now's not the best time, Dad."

"Why?"

"She's not in a good mood."

Brennan walked to the kitchen and found Parker rummaging through the fridge.

"Busted, little man," Max said from behind her.

"Mr. Keenan!" Parker lunged toward him and gave him a hug.

"Hey, I told you when we're not at the Jeffersonian classes, you can call me Max."

"Cool. Hey, Max, have you met Hadley yet?"

Max shook his head.

"Well, she's with Dad right now but when she feels better, you should meet her. She's like the only other cool girl I know besides Bones."

"Are you hungry, Parker?" Brennan asked, eyeing the open refrigerator door.

"Oh! Yeah, sorry, Bones. Dad said it was okay."

"You can help yourself, Parker, you know that."

Parker smiled at her. "Thanks, Bones."

"I'll be right back," she whispered to Max.

"I'm coming with. I want to meet this little girl my little girl is taking care of."

"Hadley is fifteen. She's not a little girl. And I want to make sure it's okay before she meets you. She's been through a lot lately, Dad."

"Hadley's dad was killed," Parker helped explained.

Max looked between the boy and his daughter. Brennan nodded.

"Okay, Tempe. I'll stay here with Parker. Maybe we should do an experiment!"

"Yeah!" Parker cheered. With her father and partner's son occupied, Brennan went down the hall to Hadley's room. She knocked and when she didn't receive an answer, she went in. Booth was leaning against the dresser and Hadley was laying on her bed. They both stared back at her.

"Um, Hadley, there's someone here that wants to meet you."

Booth and Hadley exchanged confused looks.

"Who is it?" he wanted to know.

"Max."

"How did he find out about Hadley?"

Brennan shrugged and looked at her foster daughter. "Max is my dad. You don't have to meet him if you don't want to. He understands." But the last of her words were drowned out by what sounded like a miniature explosion in the kitchen.

"Is my son with your father?"

Brennan nodded.

"Do we want to go see what's going on or are we probably safer back here?"

"I should've asked my dad to make sure whatever experiment they were going to do was a clean one. In retrospect, that would've been a wise idea."

"Too late, Bones. It sounds bad," he said with a smile when Parker's giggles carried down the hall.

Brennan was watching Hadley's reaction to what the girl was hearing and then asked, "Would you like to meet my father?"

Hadley looked conflicted. "Didn't he ditch you?"

Brennan looked to Booth and when the look on his face told her everything she needed to know, Brennan answered, "He did. But he's back now and we have worked through things. It's a long story, Hadley. One of these days, I'll explain to you."

Hadley nodded. "So can I meet him?"


	12. The Offer in the Colleague

Booth, Brennan and Hadley walked to the kitchen to find Parker doubled over in laughter.

"That one's still my favorite," he said between laughs. The experiment had broken the surface tension of the two liter of diet cola and made a mess. The soda was all over Brennan's ceiling, counter and floor.

"Dad! This is a mess!"

"Don't worry, Tempe, I'll clean it up." He was just as messy as the rest of the kitchen, soda drenched his clothes.

"Dad…"

"Max, you couldn't have picked a different experiment?" Booth asked, looking at his son who was covered in the soda as well.

"Why do something boring when you can do something awesome?" Parker said, giving Max a high five.

"We'll clean it up, don't worry," Max reassured, grabbing paper towels off the roll.

"Dad, this is Hadley. Hadley, this is my dad, Max."

Max walked over to Hadley and held his hand out. "I've give you a hug, but I'm sure you don't want soda all over you."

Hadley smiled. "Thanks. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise. Hey, how about when Parker and I get this all cleaned up, we all go get some ice cream, huh? How's that sound?"

Parker and Hadley agreed immediately and the partners couldn't say no. It took two rolls of paper towels to clean everything up and after Parker and Max put on some fresh clothes, the five of them loaded up into Booth's SUV to find the nearest ice cream shop. Max sat in the back between the two kids and Parker couldn't stop talking about all of the cool experiments he wanted to show Hadley.

"There's this one experiment with light refraction and Jell-o. It's so cool, Hadley. Max, can we do that when we get back? It's so much fun."

"You'll have to ask Tempe, it's her kitchen and we already messed it up once today."

"Please, Bones? Can we? We'll clean up our mess!" Parker begged.

"I'll make sure they don't make a mess, Bones," Hadley promised.

"Come on, Bones. Let the kids learn a little," Booth said, giving her a big smile.

Brennan smiled back and knew there was no way she could say no to an educational experience. "Alright, we'll have to stop at the store though. Jell-o is not something I keep in the kitchen at all times."

Hadley and Parker high-fived each other and then Max.

"Thanks, Bones," Hadley said softly. Brennan looked back and smiled at her.

When they arrived back at her apartment with bellies full of ice cream and several boxes of Jell-o, Hadley raced Parker to the kitchen and the two immediately set to work to prepare the experiment while the adults sat in the living room.

"So how are you handling things, Tempe?"

"I'm…handling them."

"Parenting wasn't what you thought, huh, Bones?"

She shook her head. "I'm adjusting. This situation is different. When we took care of Andy, it was only for a bit. And he was an infant. Having Hadley is a completely different situation."

"Well what about when…you know…me and you were-ˮ

"Planning on conceiving a child? Well, we discovered your brain tumor and it just didn't work out."

"Wait…am I missing something?" Max said before either of them could.

"You didn't tell him?" Booth squeaked out.

"What was there to tell? I never got pregnant and when you woke up from the coma and as soon as I knew you'd be okay, I left for a dig. Nothing ever became of it."

Max let out a short laugh. "So you two were gonna have a kid? And you were planning it? But you guys were never together?"

"No, Dad."

He laughed again. "Oh, you two are messed up. I love ya, Tempe, but that's wrong."

"I don't understand."

Max shook his head and smiled as he stood. "Of course you don't. We'll talk more later, but now I'm going to see what those kids are up to."

He left for the kitchen, leaving Booth and Brennan in silence.

"Bones…how come we never, uh, finished what we started?"

"What, having a baby?"

Booth nodded. She sighed and thought about her answer. "You told me you didn't want me to have the child if you couldn't be part of his or her life."

"Can I ask you something, Bones?"

"Of course."

"Why weren't you going to let me be part of the kid's life?"

She stayed quiet for several moments before she said anything. Checking over her shoulder to make sure her father was occupied with Hadley and Parker, Brennan looked back at Booth and gave him a straight answer.

"If you were to be part of the child's life, I had assumed, from your past experiences, that you would want more than just to be involved."

Booth looked at her like she had a third eye. "What? You mean a relationship?"

She nodded.

"Okay, Bones, that was a completely different circumstance. You and I aren't together. Rebecca and I were."

"But was it illogical for me to think like that?"

He shrugged. "Probably not."

It took Brennan a while to decide how to word her next question. "Do you wish we had continued with the insemination?"

"Do you gotta call it that? That just sounds…wrong."

"Well what would you rather have me call it?"

He shook his head as he thought about what he should say. "You could just say have a baby. It sounds a lot better and a lot less…clinical than 'insemination'."

"Okay, well do you wish we had a baby?"

"Yes. No. Hell, I…I don't know, Bones. If you had a baby, would you have taken Hadley in?"

"Of course. If we had gone through with our plan, the baby would be at least a year old by now and it would be significantly easier to care for a toddler and a teenager than an infant and a teenager."

Booth just nodded slowly. "So do you wish you had a kid?"

"Yes. Having a progeny would make me quite happy, I believe."

"You think or you know?"

Their thoughts were interrupted by Parker's yell. "Dad, come look at this! This is so cool!"

"Okay, buddy, I'm coming." Booth stood and walked toward the kitchen. As he passed her, he looked down at Brennan and said, "I'll keep my end of the deal, but only with that one condition. Think about it."

Brennan watched him walk out of the room. She began to think hard about what he had said and weighed her options.

"Bones, you okay?" Hadley asked. She had an apron on and her hands looked sticky with the jell-o.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why?"

"You had this squinty, pinched looked on your face."

They heard Booth laugh. "That's just what she looks like when she's thinking."

Brennan rolled her eyes.

"Bones, come on, come see our experiment," Hadley requested.

"Alright, let's go."

They entered the kitchen and Hadley went right back to where Max and Parker were standing. Booth was watching for a distance.

"I'm not getting any closer. For all I know, this one is gonna explode too."

"No. Apart from making the jell-o, it's a relatively clean experiment," she said, staying next to him.

"You alright, Bones?"

She smiled at him and he returned the grin. "Yes. I believe you would say that I'm better than alright."


	13. The Beginning in the Beginning

"He said that?"

"Yes. Those exact words."

"Oh…my god. Brennan, this is huge!"

"I really don't understand what you mean and please keep your voice down. Everyone is still sleeping."

Angela sighed and took a sip of her coffee thinking about how to approach the topic. "Sweetie, he admitted to you last night that he'd still give you that donation to the baby machine! Are you going to take him up on that offer?"

Brennan looked over at Booth, who was dead asleep on the sofa. His arms were folded over his chest and his head rested against the arm of the sofa while his snores filled the silence between Brennan and Angela. She was surprised the smell and sound from the coffee maker in the kitchen didn't wake him up, but they had stayed up late, watching Max help Hadley and Parker conduct experiments with the things they could find around Brennan's apartment. Max had fallen asleep on the futon in Brennan's office and Hadley and Parker were awake late into the night and early morning, chatting away as Parker laid on the floor beside Hadley's bed.

"I'm not sure. I really need to think about this. This is a big decision," she whispered.

"Okay, well at least tell me this: if you decide to have a cute little Booth, are you gonna go the old fashioned route or go back to that clinic?" Angela asked with a suggestive look on her face.

"Well, the clinic still has our files and Booth's semen wouldn't need to be retested again-ˮ

"So no steamy, hot, loud, animalistic sex?" Angela asked, disappointed.

"No, that actually sounds unpleasant."

"Bren…" she wanted to say something but couldn't continue. She knew getting Brennan to admit her true feelings would be harder than fitting a Boeing 747 into a single car garage.

"Bones?"

Parker was awake. But barely. His mop of curls was sticking up in every direction and he vigorously rubbed his eyes to adjust to the light.

"Yes, Parker?"

"I'm hungry."

"Well, you are a very lucky boy, Parker, 'cause guess what I brought," Angela said.

"Hmm?"

"Doughnuts. A whole bunch of them. I'll even let you have two," Angela told him, a wicked grin covering her face.

"Really?" Parker spied the box full of doughnuts from the nearby bakery and licked his lips hungrily.

"Of course, baby Booth! Although, you might not be baby Booth for much longer," she muttered.

"Ange!" Brennan spat out through her teeth.

"What'd you say?" Parker asked.

"Nothing. Why don't you go wake up Hadley and we'll get you two fed, huh?" Angela said, making a move to get a stack of plates and some glasses for milk.

"Okay!" Parker took off down the hall.

"Angela, could you please stop making comments like that? I want to think things over and talk with Booth first," Brennan said, finishing off her cup of coffee.

"Talk to me about what?" Booth stood where Parker had just moments before. His shirt was rumpled and his socks were twisted on his feet. "Oooh, doughnuts!"

When he reached for one, Brennan slapped his hand away. "Hadley and Parker get first choice. And you know what I want to talk to you about…" she finished, giving him a pointed look to indicate what she had meant.

"Huh? Oh…Oh! Yeah, didja think about it?" Booth asked, nervously glancing between his partner and her friend.

"I haven't had enough time to think. But, I will give you my decision soon."

"Hmm, and you know?" he asked Angela.

"Yes. Although, I think you know how it should be done," Angela said.

"Right…well the kids aren't here so they've lost their time. I want…this one," Booth mumbled, taking a doughnut from the box.

"Dad! Those are ours!" Parker cried, Hadley right behind him, "And I wanted that one!"

"There's another one just like it in the box, bub."

"Nuh-uh. You took the one with sprinkles."

* * *

**Three weeks later…**

"Tempe, you look like you've been thinking too hard. Why don't you take a break, come sit and play a game of cards with me and Hadley?"

"Come on, Bones! Max keeps winning! I need you to show me how to beat him!" Hadley begged.

Brennan looked up from her anthropology journal and smiled. "I will give you the necessary pointers so you can, ugh, how does Booth say it…properly open a container of whoop ass."

Max let out a laugh from deep in his gut. "Honey, its 'open a _can _of whoop ass.' Should you really be saying things like that to a fifteen year old?"

"Hey! I'm almost sixteen!"

"When?" he asked.

"In five months."

"You still have a ways to go, short stuff. Now, let your…Bones teach you how it's done." He caught his slip up, but he should've seen it coming. Hadley and Temperance were bonding like any normal mother and daughter would. Max sincerely hoped that the young girl would be around for quite some time. The positive affects she was having on his daughter were starting to show and he knew if the system took Hadley away, she'd be devastated. He knew what his daughter and her partner were planning. She had never quite come out and told him, but after the funeral for Hadley's father, Brennan had made the decision to take Booth up on his offer. Booth had become an essential part of Hadley's life with Brennan and Max could see his daughter's family forming around him. And after much insistence from both Booth and Parker, full custody had been handed over to Booth. Rebecca had put up a fight, but after only two days of being back with his mother, Parker started lashing out again. The boy had become attached to Hadley and vice versa. Neither had ever had a sibling before and Parker didn't mind being the younger brother. Rebecca noticed he was calling Brennan's apartment at least three times a day: once when he woke up, then again when he came home from school and one last time before he went to bed. Hadley even talked to Rebecca and promised her that Parker would come stay with her on weekends and select days after school if she agreed to let Parker live with Booth. Rebecca had a hard time saying no after that and Max took the two kids to celebrate with pie at the diner while Booth and Brennan continued discussing what would happen should she get pregnant.

"I'm quite tall for my age, thank you," Hadley retorted. Brennan whispered secrets of the game in her ear and Hadley won the next game with ease. There was a knock on the door and Hadley jumped out of her chair to get it. But Parker and Booth walked in before she could pull open the door. She lunged at Booth and he pulled her into a hug. As he placed a kiss right on the crown of her head, Parker pulled something from his backpack.

"I brought my Wii! Let's go play! I'm gonna kill you at baseball."

"No way, Park. I'm gonna open a can of whoop ass," Hadley said laughing as the two ran toward the TV.

"Where in God's name did she hear that?" Booth asked Brennan and Max.

"Tempe said it," Max accused.

"You had to correct me."

"Well, you still said it first."

"Bones, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"I'm, uh, gonna go hang out with the kids," Max said, excusing himself from the room.

Booth took Max's seat at the table, staring for a while at the discarded playing deck before he spoke. "Bones, are you for sure you want to go through with this?"

"Yes, Booth. We've discussed this several times. All I need to do in order for a successful insemination is keep my stress level down. I'm oversimplifying it, of course, but I'm sure you understand what I'm saying."

"Well, yeah, but Bones…a baby is a big deal."

"Hadley is quite excited about the idea. She and Angela have already decided they want to plan a nursery."

"Wow, I guess it's settled then."

The two fell into a comfortable silence, listening to the sounds of Hadley and Parker's baseball game.

"So do you want me to…uh, you know…come with tomorrow?"

"Booth, I'm not sure you'll want to be there when I'm inseminated. I'll probably be all exposed and I'm sure it would make you quite uncomfortable."

He nodded slowly. "Okay, but just call me as soon as you're done."

"I will…Prude."

"I am _not _prude!"

* * *

**A/N: So I'll probably add more to what happened in those missing three weeks in the next chapter, most likely as how Brennan would see it (But not necessarily from her POV). This story is coming to a close quickly, probably only two more chapters. I just want to say thanks to all who have reviewed. Your kind words mean a lot to me :) so thank you!**


	14. The Argument in the Children

"No, you know what, Bones. I'm coming with you tomorrow. I'll stay in the waiting room, but I'm coming with."

"Why?"

"Why what? If you're going to have my kid, I'm going to support you the whole way."

"Why did you change your mind?"

Booth sighed. "Because I care about you, Bones. I want to help. I'm so glad you're going to let me help you raise the baby. I'll get to do the things I never got to do with Parker when he was born. I just…You deserve some support. And I know you have Max and Hadley and Angela, but Parker and I are going to help out too. We're gonna be here through all of it whether you like it or not. And you can't back out on this, Bones. If we have a kid and you decide to kick me out of the baby's life, I'm going to fight. I had to fight for Parker and I lost too much time in his life. If you shut me out, Bones, you can expect some legal battles. I know you won't go broke but I'll spend everything I have saved to fight this. Don't shut me out, Bones."

"I told you I want this child to have a father. Obviously, that would be you. Have I given you reason to believe that I would not allow you to help me raise him or her? I do not intend to go back on my word, Booth."

He smiled. "Sorry, Bones. This is just kind of freaking me out. I didn't expect to have another kid…like this."

"You mean out of wedlock?" The concern in her voice was evident and she took a step closer to him. She wanted to reach out and comfort him, but she wanted to hear what he had to say.

"Well…yeah. I mean, I don't regret Parker at all, but I just always imagined that if I had another kid, I'd be married and have a real house, not just an apartment. This is just not what I had planned on."

"Have you changed your mind, Booth? Do you not want me to have a child anymore? You still have until tomorrow to back up."

"Back out, Bones. It's back out. And no, I don't want to back out, but if you're going to do this, it's gotta be me and you. It's gotta be me and you now, when the baby is born and forever. None of this 'we're partners' bull."

"Booth…"

"No, Bones. That night on the Hoover steps I know I moved to fast. I should've explained things more, explained myself more. Look, I know I told you I didn't want you to have the kid if I couldn't be part of it's life but that's a lie, Bones. I don't want you to have my kid unless we're together. This kid deserves two parents."

"But it'll have that. Just because we're not together doesn't mean this child wouldn't have two parents," she reasoned.

"You're missing my point, Bones. I want my, our kid to have parents who love each other and care about each other. I couldn't give Parker that, but maybe I can do that for this kid. Just…if you still want to do this, say you'll give me a chance. If you can't do that for me, I can't do this for you."

His rant left her speechless. Brennan opened her mouth to say something but it wouldn't come out. She didn't know how to respond. He looked sad and she didn't fight the tears welling up.

"I told you, Booth, I…I can't change for you. What happens when you decide you want to date someone else or when you change your mind about me? I know you're a devoted father, Booth, so I can't risk the relationship a child would have with you for one that we could have. It's too dangerous. It's too…selfish!"

"Bones, that's not selfish. What about the benefits it would have for our baby? There are some studies out there that have proved that kids who grow up with parents that are together turn out better than the ones who grow up in a house with only one parent!" he said, grasping at scientific straws for any sort of hope. She seemed to accept that and didn't respond.

"So you want a relationship with me for the child?" her voice was strained, doing what she could from letting the tears fall. He could tell she was afraid; he was pushing too fast again.

"Not just for the kid, Bones. I…love you and the idea of having a family with you and Parker and Hadley and any kids we might have. Just the thought of that, Bones, makes me happier than you could even imagine."

"I don't know what to say, Booth."

"Bones? You don't want a family?" Parker's voice startled both his dad and Bones. The boy didn't sound hurt or sad, just very confused.

"You are my family, Parker. I…"

"Well, not really. Not unless you and Dad are together. It doesn't really count."

"I agree with Parker," Hadley added.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to side with the kids," Max added, coming up behind the two. She didn't feel cornered or pressured. She felt as confused as Parker.

"Dad, Booth, can I talk to Parker and Hadley for a minute?"

Max smiled and walked away and Booth reluctantly followed. She waited until their footsteps faded before speaking.

"I want you two to know that I really do want a family," Brennan spoke, attempting to make her speech as young adult friendly as possible. She knew Hadley and Parker were not considered children, nor did they think of themselves as children. They didn't deserve to be treated like toddlers.

"I sense a 'but,'" Hadley said.

"Totally," Parker agreed with a nod.

"You would be correct. But I have been hurt in the past."

"Bones, Dad isn't gonna burn you."

"Why would he do that? He would certainly not hurt me like that!"

"No, Bones, Parker means burn as in leave. Booth won't leave you."

"Parker, you know how much I like evidence. And not just anecdotes, like you father had a tendency of giving. I would like to see what yours is supporting the hypothesis that your father won't burn me, as you call it."

Parker let out a deep breath and thought very hard about his answer before speaking. He didn't want to mess this up for his dad and Hadley or for himself even. They all wanted this, except for Brennan, who didn't know what she wanted.

"Well…Dad says he's loved you since the moment he met you. He always get that gushy look whenever someone even just says your name, you know that look that boys get when they have a crush on someone. But it's way more than just a crush. And…Oh! When you look at Dad, you get that same gushy face."

"I do not," Brennan said, blush rising into her cheeks.

"You do too, Bones," Hadley said, her smile bigger than Brennan had seen in a while. Hadley still had her moments when she would lash out, but they were almost always justified and Brennan could always count on Booth to help smooth things over. "Plus, I need a foster dad," she teased.

"Dad practically already is your foster dad," Parker said simply, like it was nothing.

"True. But not really, I mean."

The two started having a conversation between themselves, almost excluding Brennan, but let her in on how Booth really felt.

"I don't think you two would be over here so much if we weren't, like, best friends and your dad wasn't in love with Bones," Hadley said.

"You're right. I mean, think about it! What would it be like if we never hung out again?" Parker cried.

"That would totally suck. And I was just getting used to being a sister."

"Yeah, I liked being a brother."

They both shrugged, playing the guilt trip card. Neither of them was sure it would work, but Parker and Hadley both felt they were running out of options.

"That won't work, Parker Booth. You know better than that," Brennan scolded.

As Booth listened in on all of this, he realized a relationship between them would affect his son and Hadley as well. It would only be for the better, he told himself. The two would have to be used to being a sibling if he and Bones were still gonna have a kid. And he realized just how improved Brennan's parenting skills had become. She went from saying the wrong things to Hadley on almost a daily basis to reading his son like a book. But Booth was running out of options and he didn't know what to do. Sure, they could push back her appointment to a later day until they worked things out between them, but what if it never worked out? His heart dropped and broke a little for his son when he heard the pain in his voice of what he said next.

"But Dad always said you're the center! You're the center, Bones!" Parker felt like he wanted to cry. His ideas, his evidence wasn't working and he had to remind himself that his dad never cries so he wasn't going to either. Parker loved Bones. And Hadley and Max. He wanted this to work, not only for him, but for his father too. He had seen the way his dad was hurt when Bones had first said no. The two had talked about it, mainly because Booth needed someone to listen to him that wasn't Sweets. Booth regretted telling his son, only because a burden like that should be placed on someone so young. But Parker knew his dad's heart was breaking and he wasn't going to stand for it anymore. He had to protect his dad and help him in any way he could, just like his dad had done for him so many times before.

"He told you that?" Brennan's voice caught in her throat. Parker nodded.

"The center's gotta hold," Hadley tried out of desperation. She needed Booth. To Hadley, becoming so close to Booth was a matter of keeping her own sanity. Sure, she never really saw her real dad. He worked like a dog and never spent his free time with her, but he was the only biological family she had ever known. Bones was her mother, in every sense of the word. Seeing Bones in such a conundrum made her feel less sorry for herself and more remorseful for Bones. She wanted to help the woman that helped her and if that meant pushing her toward her best friend's father, then that's what she was going to do. She needed Booth and Parker. Parker was the only kid who had ever been nice to her. Hadley was a loner in school and the girls at her old high school had only made it worst. Her new school was better. It was a quality program, not like the one she had attended when she lived in the suburbs. She made friends there who were kind to her, and she knew she could let herself go a little, because even if they ended up pushing her away, she'd always have a friend in Parker and Booth.

Brennan had let a few tears fall and struggled not to let the rest flow freely.

Booth continued to listen as he debated what to say. He wasn't in the habit of letting his son fight his battles for him, but he was well aware of the perfect argument he was making. He felt Max's hand on his shoulder. "So are you going to say something or are you just going to eavesdrop?"

Booth didn't respond, but he didn't push Max away either.

"You know," Max continued, "this grandkid of mine you two are planning is never gonna meet me if you and Tempe keep dancing around each other like this. Now, those two kids are doing a damn fine job of campaigning for you, but they can't do all the work. You gotta step up."

"I tried, Max. She doesn't want me. And you won't have a grandkid if she doesn't want me."

"Will you just pull your head out of your ass for one minute, Booth?" Max cried, "This isn't about kids. I know you love my girl. And I know she loves you. But she is as stubborn as Ruth when it comes down to it. You have no clue what I had to go through to get her mother to marry me. She's stubborn, we both know that. But she loves you. The kids are doing a pretty damn good job of hyping you up, if you ask me. So I suggest you go relieve them and see what Tempe has to say. You send those two in here. I'll keep them occupied."

He nodded and clapped Max on the shoulder. For a hardened criminal, the man sure had a soft spot. He walked up behind Parker and placed his hands on his son's shoulders.

"Max wants to play a game with you two."

"But Dad-ˮ Parker wanted to protest. He thought he was getting somewhere with Bones.

"Go, Parker. Hadley, you too." She nodded and followed a sulking Parker to where Max was.

"Bones, I-ˮ

"The center will hold, right?" she asked when they were alone, a hopeful smile covered her tear laden face.

"It'll always hold," he promised. He went to her and she let him hug her. She breathed in his scent and he placed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Mission accomplished," Parker muttered to Hadley as the two of them, plus Max, left their eavesdropping posts and went back to their card game.


	15. The Mother in the Doctor

_**Fifteen months later…**_

"Hadley!"

"What's up?"

"I need you to do me a favor!"

"What is it?"

"Go to the store and pick me up some more diapers and wipes. Grab the cash out of my purse."

"I'm coming too!" Parker said.

Hadley and Parker raced out to Brennan's car and Hadley slid in the driver's seat. She was sixteen now and running errands for her parents was her specialty. Since baby Paxton made his way into their lives, Hadley and Parker were more than filling the roles of dutiful big brother and sister. On more than one occasion, Brennan and Booth had found Hadley holding Paxton in the rocking chair late at night. The baby boy was the topic of several debates at the lab. The main one was whether or not Paxton was a product of the insemination or the partner's budding relationship. The procedure hadn't worked the first few times and Booth and Brennan took out their frustrations on each other in bed. It had become Angela's mission since Brennan announced she was pregnant to find out the truth. Why they had continued with the insemination, no one really knew. For a while, they avoided telling Sweets about the new development in their relationship after Hadley and Parker had given Brennan such a convincing argument in order to save their partnership. The insemination procedures provided a decent cover for them, giving others the impression there was nothing going on. Brennan, who was quite proud of this, was able to fool Sweets until her baby bump began to show. She had been sending her interns to go with Booth, because going through a bout of morning sickness at a scene was unacceptable to her, and the only time she was allowed to go outside the lab on a case was to the interrogation room where the suspects were more in Booth's control. They were surprised Sweets didn't figure it out sooner. Booth said the reason was because Sweets, as a kid who hadn't hit puberty yet, didn't know how babies were made. Brennan made the rational argument that not only was their baby and their relationship none of Sweets' business, but that Paxton might not have been conceived the way Booth believed.

Their family was coming together. The mandatory visits from the Family Services people were dreaded but always went over well. It scared Hadley to death when her case worker would show up but after reassurance from Booth and a few distractions by Paxton and Parker, the moments seemed to pass without incident. The case worker knew she was happy here, and there was no way she was going to break up this success story. Hadley had even broached the subject of adoption, much to Brennan's delight. She didn't know how to approach the topic and completely fine with Hadley making the first move. She didn't want to offend Hadley in anyway by making the girl think there was pity involved or that put any pressure on her. Hadley had even researched things herself, calling Family Services herself to ensure she would never leave.

Brennan's apartment, which once seemed like too much space for a single, uncommitted woman, instantly became too tiny when Booth and Parker moved in officially. Brennan wasn't too fond of sharing her closet and vanity space but Hadley was more than willing to share her room with Parker. The two would stay up late into the night talking about anything and everything. Hadley was just glad she wasn't alone anymore. Her new life was giving her more family structure than she had before foster care. Parker, on the other hand, had wanted nothing more than a sibling, and before Paxton arrived, and Hadley gave him that.

"Are you okay? I heard shouting," Booth asked, rounding the corner quickly into the nursery and Brennan's converted office. Three month old Paxton was lying on the changing table exposed to the world.

"Bones! Put a diaper on him before he pees all over you!"

"I can't! You didn't pick up any diapers at the store yesterday! I just sent Hadley. Parker went with."

"Well…put the dirty one back on!"

"No! I don't want him to sit in his excrement! He'll get a rash."

Paxton watched his parents bicker with a toothless grin on his face.

"What are you doing?" Brennan asked as she watched him run to the linen closet. He pulled out a couple of hand towels and some first aid tape.

"We are going to make our own diaper until your big brother and sister come back," he cooed at his son. Paxton let out a squeal and smiled wider.

"Booth…I don't know if this is a good idea," Brennan said as she watched him wrap the towels around the infant.

"Do you want him to pee on you?"

"No."

"Then this will have to do until Hadley and Parker get back."

"Don't put it on too tight!"

He lifted Paxton off the changing table and held him out at arm's length to get a look at his handiwork. The crude diaper was barely hanging on.

"Okay, little big man, let's go watch that Phillies game," Booth said, pulling him close. Brennan followed them into the living room. They turned the game on and Booth went into explaining all of the ins and outs of baseball for Paxton, who Booth claimed was going to be the next Roy Halladay. It wasn't too much later when, as Hadley and Parker came through the door proud of their success at the store, Paxton's makeshift diaper leaked and a warm puddle formed on Booth's jeans.

He yelped and lifted Paxton in the air in a _Lion King_-esque hold.

"Take your son," he told Brennan, attempting not to lose his cool.

Hadley, Parker, and Brennan couldn't stop laughing and Paxton joined in. Booth smiled and shook his head at all of them.

"Dad, that's so gross," Parker said through his giggles, "you should go change."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going, I'm going."

"Nice diaper," Hadley commented, "do you want me to change him?"

"If you'd like," Brennan said and Hadley took Paxton back to the nursery.

She followed Booth back into their bedroom and leaned on the door frame while she watched him peel off his jeans and run some water over the stain.

"So, the realtor called this morning," she said, a grin covering her face.

"What'd he say?" Booth seemed occupied with other issues, like his son's urine on his favorite pants.

"They accepted our offer. We can move in next week."

The news made his head snap up.

"Are you serious?"

"Very serious."

He abandoned the jeans in the sink and pulled her into a steamy kiss.

"So…we're going to have a real house? Like an honest to God house where each kid can have their own room and you can have your office?"

She nodded.

"Dad! Put some clothes on!" Parker said as he, Hadley and Paxton came up behind him. He reached up to cover Hadley's eyes, though she had already adverted them. He blocked her view anyway while Booth slid on a pair of sweats.

"There, all better," Booth said.

Parker lowered his hand and asked, "Are we going to have to change schools?"

"Please, no! Not in the middle of mock trial season," Hadley begged, "We have a major meet coming up and I'm the lead prosecutor! That would not only ruin the entire team's defense but it would totally suck for me too. I already had to change schools once, which was fine by me, but I have friends at this school now."

"No, we're still in the district. It's that one house we looked at together not too far from here."

"The mansion?" Parker squeaked out, "We're going to live in a mansion."

"It's more of an estate," Hadley corrected.

"It's not anything. Just a house," Booth told them, obviously affected by the idea of living in a house he couldn't afford on his own.

"Wait, this is the house that had the yard big enough for us to play football, right?"

"Yes, Parker. It should be big enough to play a game of football. Perhaps it would even be an adequate size to make a baseball pitch."

"Diamond, Bones. Baseball diamond," Booth corrected. He kissed her again, longer than the first one had been.

"Park, come on. I think they're mad at each other," Hadley muttered as she pulled him from the room.

Paxton started to fuss and Brennan pulled away to take him from Hadley.

"Why do you think we're upset with each other?" Booth asked.

"You guys always kiss like that when you're angry."

"That is accurate, Booth. She's right. When we're done fighting, the make-up-ˮ

"Ah, ah, ah!" Booth covered her mouth with his hand. "They don't need to know what goes on in here," he whispered to her.

She waited until Hadley and Parker left to tell Booth more good news.

"I got a call from Caroline today," she whispered.

"Oh, yeah? What'd she have to say?"

"Well, she wanted to talk about Hadley's adoption."

"Jesus, there's something wrong with the paper work, isn't there? Is it because we're not married yet, because we can change that."

Brennan smiled and looked at the ring on her finger. "No, there's nothing wrong. Caroline called some people, cashed in a few favors and moved the adoption date up."

"You're kidding." She hadn't seen Booth this happy since she told him she was pregnant.

"Why would I joke about something like this?"

He kissed her again until Paxton interrupted with a loud protest that he wasn't being paid any attention. Booth chuckled and took Paxton from Brennan's arms. He checked the diaper first, making sure it was secure and leak free before he cradled the baby to his chest with one arm.

"Come on, bub. Let's go tell your sis it's almost official."

When things were final a month later, the Squint Squad assembled at Booth and Brennan's new home to celebrate Hadley's adoption becoming final. It was loud in the large house and Paxton loved all the attention he was getting from the women. Hadley was currently beating Max, Russ, Amy and their girls at the card game she had once thought was impossible to win. And with Parker outside hunting for Dissosteira Carolina, or grasshoppers, Jack and Wendell kept him busy. Booth and Brennan stood alone in the kitchen finishing the big meal they had prepared for everyone.

"You know, Hadley called me Mom last night," Brennan said as she pulled the baked potatoes from the oven.

"She did? Are you okay with this?" Booth asked her, pouring glasses of wine for all that were old enough.

"Of course. I am her mother now."

"Well, you've been her mother a lot longer than you think, Bones."

"I don't understand."

He pulled her away from the baked potatoes and wrapped his arms around her. She followed suit and smiled up at him.

"You're the only mother she knows."

"I'm very glad you convinced Rebecca to let Parker live with us."

"Ha. That was the kids' handiwork. She did say he seems a lot happier when he visits her. That's all she wants for him."

She kissed him, but he pulled away from her. He had a look on his face that she couldn't read. It either meant he was confused or shocked about something.

"What's wrong?"

"I…I went from having one kid I hardly saw to having a fiancée and three kids that aren't going anywhere. Nothing's wrong. I'm just not used to things going my way."

Brennan smiled and pulled him back into a kiss but it was again interrupted.

"MOM!" Hadley's voice snapped them apart.

"I better go see what it is," she said, releasing herself from Booth's arms. "I am still not used to her saying that."

"Well, get used to it, Babe. You're going to be hearing that for the rest of your life."

"You still don't get to call me Babe," she reprimanded with a smile as she sauntered out of the kitchen to see what trouble her daughter was causing.

* * *

**A/N: So that's it! I'm sorry it took so long to update. With classes, homework and Homecoming week happening all at once, it took me all week to write this. Don't forget, for those of you who read my other fic, _A Light On A Hill_, look for the one-shots that are coming soon. I already have everything outlined and planned. I also want to say thanks to all who have faithfully reviewed. You guys are amazing!**

**It's bed time for me so I can get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow and tailgate before our Homecoming game against Penn State. On Iowa and Go Hawkeyes!**

**Thanks again for reading and reviewing! I love you all :)**


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